Baldur's Gate Heroes
by Coutelier
Summary: AU One year on from witnessing her closest friends death at the hands of Sarevok, Imoen, haunted by nightmares and struggling to maintain herself is suddenly approached by a mysterious Japanese man, and her journey begins anew.
1. Chapter 1

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #001 **

The young woman with shoulder length red hair had been given the name 'Imoen'. She did not know her true family name, for she had grown up an orphan. You would think it natural for her to want to know who her true parents had been and why it was they had abandoned her to be raised by strangers. In fact, never in her twenty years had she felt any such desire. She'd accepted her life the way it was and taken the surname of her adopted parents - Winthrop. It was a silly name and she didn't like to use it much.

But this place? It was a place unfamiliar to her. It seemed to be a factory of some kind, but manufacturing what? This machinery was unlike anything she had ever seen. At least she'd eluded the creatures pursuing her, for now.

She found herself in a room at the center of which was some kind of hexagonal console containing many buttons and displays, the meanings of which were way beyond her but were the only source of light she had at the moment. Across the floor, stretching from each side of the console, were thick cables attached to some kind of glass tubes filled with liquid.

Imoen couldn't see clearly inside them, but, could it be that those creatures… the ones that had come out of the shadows and chased her, those things that had the shape of a human, but the teeth, claws and savage instincts of beasts… could it be they were what was being manufactured here?

In the dark, she ran her hands across the cases for any clue and found what she believed were three initials – E L F?

Before she had time to consider if that might be significant in some way, she was startled by the lights. Someone had turned them on. Her grey eyes widened to far beyond mere surprise when she saw who that someone was. The woman standing at the door seemed like a taller, more muscular and fully figured version of the slender Imoen.

"Diana?" The smaller red head finally managed to say.

"Yes, little sister," the one called Diana graced Imoen with a gentle smile. There was much similarity in each of their outward appearances, but they had no idea if they were truly sisters. But, since growing up in the orphanage together they had always treated each other as such. "What trouble have you gotten yourself into now? What's the matter, aren't you pleased to see me?"

"Of course I am, sis. It's just that…" Imoen frowned. Something was very wrong here. She felt a block in her memory. "I can't remember how I got here… and there's something else about this that makes no sense… it's just… I can't say what, exactly."

"And so, as usual, it's up to me to put all the pieces together and get us out of this mess. Seems I spent all my life looking after you…" 

Imoen remembered that. The orphanage could be a rough place and she was never exactly the physical type.

"Heh, you always were the smart one too," she said. "And strong, and brave… a real Wonder Woman. If you weren't my sister, I'd hate your guts."

"Truly? You feel that threatened by me?"

"Huh? Nah… I know you can't help being perfect."

"But you should feel threatened, little sister ," Diana said with a sneer. 

"W-what?" Imoen still felt the block on her memory and continued to push against it. And now the sudden change in her sister's tone… true, they'd treated each other as sisters all their lives, even to the point of experiencing some sibling rivalry. Not that there was ever really any contest, Diana trounced Imoen at absolutely everything.

"You should have stayed at home," Imoen's perfect sister now seemed to be speaking through lips laced with venom, "you should never have tried to follow me… I've had to constantly watch you, protect you from enemies too great for a weakling like you to handle. All you've ever been is a nuisance!" 

" No! " Imoen cried and sunk into the corner, shutting her eyes and clamping her hands over her eyes… as if she thought if she couldn't see or hear then it wasn't really happening. "You can't be saying these things… I-I helped you… I helped you find Sarevok…" Saying that name, the name of a man who had killed Diana's foster parent and for some reason wanted Diana dead as well, somehow it seemed it caused the block in Imoen's mind to start to crumble.

"Help me? All you ever did was hold me back and get in the way… it was because of you I'm…"

"You can't be saying these things," Imoen sobbed, the memories now returning. "You… you're…"

" _Dead?" _When Imoen opened her eyes, her sister was gone. In her place stood a decaying, grey skinned, fetid corpse. A very animated corpse, but a corpse nonetheless.

"And do you remember the others who fell that day?" The corpse that was once Diana said, her voice like a breeze. "Khalid… Dynaheir… all of us dead, because of you…" 

"No… I… I tried to help… I really did…"

Imoen saw it now, that final battle. Sarevok, a true giant of a man even without blackened power armor. He was almost a god… bullets just bounced off him as he advanced. Imoen however had found his weakness. His armor was impenetrable, but only while it continued to draw energy from the city. All she had to do was sever the link and he would be made vulnerable… but she hadn't been fast enough. By the time she'd returned two of her friends had already fallen, and she was just in time to watch helplessly as her sister drove her sword into Sarevok's heart… but not before suffering fatal wounds of her own.

" _Murderer! _" The spectre before her in the present suddenly shrieked. Imoen felt boney fingers pressing against her throat and struggled desperately to escape. She succeeded in breaking the grip… she also found Diana's holster and rolled away with her sisters revolver in her hands. She arrived on her feet with the weapon pointed at the ghost.

"You're not her!" Imoen screeched. "Diana wouldn't do this!"

"Now, that's a big gun for such a little girl," the spectre said as it slowly advanced. "Better put it down before you hurt yourself with it…"

"No!" Imoen shut her eyes and pulled the trigger. She yelped as her own wrist was broken by the force of the bullet being expelled.

"Now that's going to leave a scar," the spectre put her finger through the wide open hole in her stomach.

"I'm sorry…" Imoen sobbed. Then, before her eyes, the scene changed. Her sister, the console and the tanks all vanished and she found herself in a cage. And outside there was a man… a bald man who was unfamiliar yet she knew she had seen him before. She knew he had a name.

"I-Irenicus?" She said weakly. Suddenly she felt overcome by pain throughout every part of body. Each breath she took ached more than the last.

"Pity, about your sister," he said, although if he felt any sadness it didn't show. He betrayed no trace of any emotion. "Her untimely death has meant I have had to revise my plans somewhat."

"W-what do you want with me?"

"Only that you find me, little goddess. Find me, or the nightmares will never stop." 

"N-nightmares… goddess… I-I don't… understand…" 

"You truly do not know, do you? You have no idea of the power you possess… perhaps your 'sister' was not so perfect as you imagined. She kept you in the dark about a great many things. But, if it answers you seek, then come. Find me, if you can. But now… it is time for more experiments…"

"No… n-no more… plea _iiieee _!" Imoen screamed as, with a single gesture from her captor the agony she was in reached new heights.

Then she awoke, her blankets drenched in her own sweat. But was Imoen really awake? She decided that she was, since she wasn't much of a philosopher and didn't often question the nature of reality. She just knew she was awake, this was her room, that was her pop music collection scattered over the floor and it was her exercise bike in the corner, which only ever found use as a coat rack.

Imoen lay back on her bed, but didn't dare fall asleep again. It had only been one year… but it felt like a whole lifetime ago now, since the battle with Sarevok. The others who had been with her at the time had gone their own ways.

Jaheira had been an old friend of Gorion's, Diana's foster father. She had made a promise to look after Diana and didn't hang around much after her death. Khalid had also been her husband. Imoen suspected there had been more to their purpose than met the eye… but the man from her dream was right, Diana kept her in the dark about much of what had really been going on.

Minsc was still in the city, as far as Imoen knew. He'd sworn to protect Dynaheir… now he hung around in seedy clubs fighting for money.

They'd all lost someone very important… but, well, you're supposed to just move on right?

A year ago, Imoen had been a hero and adventurer. That hadn't worked out, but she'd picked up what she had left and set out to make the best living someone with her skills and qualifications could.

And so, several hours later:

"Would you like fries with that?" She asked. Of course, the subtle trick all fast food restaurant employees learnt was how to ask a question that wasn't really a question. The customer was being told he will have fries. He had absolutely no choice when it came to fries. If you didn't have fries you would never fit in with the rest of society.

This customer, Imoen could see, was going to resist. He was going to try and go against the flow. She almost hoped for him to succeed, but, like all the others, he would be too weak to resist the brightly colored posters that had assaulted his vision ever since stepping in to Jansen Burger.

"Well… I, um…" He still fought? Imoen was impressed, but he wouldn't last.

"Yes?" She smiled brightly, utilizing a more subtle form of subliminal advertising.

"Yes… I guess…"

"You made the right choice," indeed, there was no point in trying to fight it. There was nowhere left on Earth where you could hide from the Really Big Corporation of America. "Have a nice day," she said through her smile as the customer left. A smile that quickly faded once he'd done so.

"I never used to have to fake being happy you know," she put her elbows on the counter. "Used to be a time when life was carefree and fun and I wouldn't let anything bother me." 

"We all gotta grow up eventually," her co-worker, a man in his early twenties, commented.

"That's what being a grown up is? Just spending your whole life worrying about bills and rent and being forced to… to work ," Imoen spat out the word as if it was the most unnatural thing ever conceived by man.

"If you're not happy, you could always turn to crime."

"I did once. I've always had a knack for sneaking and getting around locks and security systems… it's probably the one thing I've ever been good at. But, I gave it up on conscientious grounds." 

"What grounds were they?"

"Well, on the grounds that police carry guns."

"I wouldn't have thought you'd be afraid of a little danger… not after all the adventures you had."

"Me? Always been a coward. If there was ever any element of danger involved I stayed well away from it… I mean, I did what I could to help, but from a distance. Else I'd hide myself somewhere and wait for a chance to stab the bad guys in the back… not exactly noble is it?"

"Well, not everyone's got superpowers. Still, maybe you could still use your skills to fight crime?"

"Ha! Yeah, I can see it now… 'Halt villains! Or feel the wrath of the one they call… not very often…" At least Imoen still had her sense of humor. "Nah, that's all over… I'm nothing on my own. Besides, there's no money in it. Anything you find that's worth anything y'gotta turn in as evidence." 

"I get it… you don't want to spend the rest of your life living under Diana's shadow?"

Imoen pulled her cap down, trying to hide the expression of guilt underneath. Was it wrong to feel this way? She'd loved Diana… but she could never be half the 'Hero' she'd been. And what made matters worse; Diana had died saving the world from a powerful villain. She'd died a martyr, taken from all of them at the height of their love, and now her heroism would be an eternal memory for all the inhabitants of Baldur's Gate. And because of that, there would always be expectations of Imoen… expectations she couldn't possibly meet. 

Hell… Imoen had only been doing this job one week, having walked out or been fired from the previous eight. But if Diana had started working here, she'd be area manager by now. No, that was silly… she'd be head of the entire company and using its resources to fight evil. What a bitch.

"Hajimemashite," someone said… not her co-worker though. Imoen lifted her cap and stared over the counter. The man there stared through sharp eyes. He had long jet-black hair, goatee and moustache… he looked like the villain from some samurai movie.

"Er… sure," Imoen pulled herself straight. "May I take your order sir? Today's special is turnip surprise."

"I see," the Asian man rubbed his little beard thoughtfully. "And what is the surprise?" 

"There's nothing in it, except turnip."

"I think not… I am not here to order anything. My name is Yoshimo," the man bowed. "Perhaps, you have heard of me?"

Imoen looked at her co-worker, who merely shook his head and shrugged. "Sorry," she said.

"Ah… well, if you had, perhaps my skills would not be in so high a demand. My… employer sent me to find you, with an offer of gainful employment."

"What kind of employment?" Imoen was naturally curious.

"A little re-location of assets, that is all."

"Sorry pal… I don't do any of that stuff. Got gainful employment right here." 

"Indeed… selling turnips?" Yoshimo said, but the way his eyebrow moved said 'yeah, right'.

"What? It's an honest living… it is!" Imoen sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than the eyebrow. "And, it's not just turnips we sell. It's burgers as well… and we do a vegetarian burger too… which is made from turnip but is very good!" Actually it wasn't that good, and she'd never understood vegetarians who ate all this revolting mock-meat. Clearly, they were just suppressing a desire for the real thing.

"I have no wish to hold up your other customers," Yoshimo said, and pulled a card from his jacket handing it to her. "If you do become interested, you may contact my employer. Good day to you," he bowed once more and left. 

"Sayonara," Imoen said. She meant to just throw the card away, but she took a glance and three initials immediately caught her eye. What the hell was this? Her nightmares were haunting her now, while she was awake?!

_' Project ELF ,' _she read. 

"What's that? Some kind of environmental group?" 

"Hey!" Imoen snapped the card away so her co-worker couldn't read it over her shoulder. "And no… I really don't think it is."

"Imoen," the two workers turned their heads at the sound of their supervisor. She was a middle-aged woman quite noticeably overweight. She was almost out of breath by the time she'd lumbered across the restaurant floor. Standing opposite her underlings, she thrust out what could only be assumed to be her hip, making sure everyone saw the bunch of keys dangling from her belt; the keys that symbolized her authority and great responsibility.

_' Oh god ,' _thought Imoen. ' _Could I be looking at my own future? ' _

"Some kid threw up in the ladies room," she said through a sour, wrinkled face. "Need you to clean it up." 

Imoen was out of that fast-food place faster than a super-model. She'd had no idea an honest living could be so… dirty. Astonishing, she spotted the man called Yoshimo still outside, but he was just getting into his car.

"Wait up you!" She yelled at the top of her tiny lungs. "Wait up!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #002 **

"So what's the job?" Imoen adjusted the passenger seat so that she could lean back with her hands behind her head. It may have been a more attractive pose if she wasn't still wearing her Jan Burger uniform which stank of grease. "Who are we working for? Where are we going? Will I need a swimsuit? You should know I won't steal anything from anyone who isn't a villain."

"If I may answer only one question at a time," Yoshimo said whilst shifting gears.

"Well… if that's the custom in your country. So where are we going?"

"An island in the pacific. You won't have heard of it, as it is made up."

"Uh… what?"

"I mean, it was created by artificial means. Some experiment trying to draw power from the Earth's core caused land to rise to surface… but the island still does not appear on any maps."

"Uh-huh… does it have a beach? What we going there for? We will have time to relax won't we?"

"One question at a time, please," the Japanese man insisted. "Why do people in your country talk so much?"

"It's because we're all so clever you see? We're like trains loaded with goods, and when we open our mouths there's so much information that needs to come out that it takes a while for the breaks to work."

Yoshimo looked highly doubtful. "This…" he produced a photograph from inside his suit and allowed it to fall onto Imoen's chest. "This is what we need to retrieve."

The red-head took one look and shook her head. "No way. Sorry, don't do kidnappings."

"She's already been kidnapped; our job is to get her back."

Imoen sighed and lay back again. In hindsight, it would probably have been wise to ask all these questions before quitting her job and jumping into a car with a suspicious stranger… but she hadn't, so she guessed she was now kind of committed. If nothing else, she was barely able to pay her way with the money Jansen's paid… one little theft however could see her by for at least a year before she had to steal something else. Diana would be frowning on her from heaven for that though… but rescuing a damsel? There was no way she could object to that.

"So who is she?" Imoen asked. Even though it was very strange to a westerner, she stuck to the custom of one question at a time, rather than trying to blurt everything out at once.

"She isn't really a person at all. ELF stands for Engineered Life Form. She was grown in a test tube."

"Test tube?" Imoen thought back to nightmares she'd been having, strangely still very clear in her mind. There was no way this was all a coincidence. Was it some kind of premonition? Could she see the future? If so, that would be cool… at least it would be if she saw things other than dead people. But then, from the Discovery channel she knew that things in dreams were often symbols for something else… whatever they were, she was determined to find out.

At first glance, Imoen had taken the person in the photo to be just an ordinary girl. But upon closer inspection she noticed a peculiar slant to her wide blue eyes, and she could just make out the tips of pointy ears emerge through her long blonde hair. She wasn't like the creatures that attacked her in her dreams… despite the unusual features, this girl was actually pretty. At least she would be if someone would throw her a sandwich every now and then.

Not that it was Imoen's place to criticize anyone for their weight. Before she'd ran away after Diana to start all this adventuring business, Imoen had been a much fuller figure… now there was hardly a trace of fat on her. Of course, a thief had to be flexible.

But from the eyes in the photo Imoen got the impression that wherever she was, this girl wasn't eating well. She just wasn't well at all, and had no reason at all to be smiling when her picture was taken.

"What is she then, exactly?" Imoen asked. If she wasn't human, this girl sure did a good imitation of human expressions

"I am no scientist myself," Yoshimo pointed out to her. "From what I understand, they take genetic material from almost any animal and grow it in these artificial wombs."

"She doesn't look like any animal I've ever seen."

"She wouldn't. They make significant changes to the DNA, and can control every aspect of its growth and development… and they make animals look and act more as humans, I guess."

"But why would you want to do that?"

"Perhaps just because they can? In my experience, scientists rarely ask why. But, if you think about it… you could create a race of workers specially bred for any type of task or environment. You could send some into space to build colonies there… they would have enough intelligence and self-awareness to solve problems and innovate when necessary, making them far more useful than any machine. But, since no part of them is human either, they would have no rights and we can do whatever we want with them, really."

"You really have thought about it… but it doesn't explain why she's so important."

"She is… well, a sort of prototype. Several years ago, when a rival company learnt of her existence, they stole her from my employer. They have since been conducting experiments of their own."

"Yeah… and who, exactly, is your employer?"

"I have never met them in person. They are highly secretive, but considering the nature of their work perhaps that is understandable, yes? On the card I showed you is a number you can call, and someone will speak to you. I have tried to trace them, but the signal is bounced repeatedly halfway around the globe and between numerous satellites."

"But you trust them?" It was now Imoen's turn to cock an eyebrow.

"As I have said, they are _highly _secretive, and clearly have resources… do you think they would have allowed me to say no? I am as curious as you are, but the only way to learn more is to go along."

"Fair point," Imoen resumed her thinking position. Of course, now she knew all this they probably wouldn't allow her to say no either. She didn't want to get anyone else involved by telling them, but she may have to involve one more person. "You know, we're going to need some muscle in case something goes wrong, or your birdie decides she doesn't want to go home."

"Of course. I assume you refer to your old companion, Doctor Rashemanvich? I have heard of his work but, he must in his seventies by now."

"Did you know people stop aging in their nineties? It's true… it's like we all have a little clock inside us. Well Minsc, he found a way to reset it. But, when you see him in person, I should warn you he might not be quite what you expect of the greatest genius who has ever lived… is this your car by the way?"

"It is not stolen, if that's what you imply. I rented it. Why do you ask?"

"It's a nice car. You won't want to take it to the neighborhood where we're going. I've got one more question first though… why'd you come to me?"

"I have had time to examine plans and surveillance of the laboratory… they have state of the art security systems, so naturally I needed the best possible help."

"Naturally," Imoen smiled proudly.

"The best help however, was unavailable. But I heard about you… is something wrong?"

"Don't say anything. Just drive."

--

The docks of Baldur's Gate were not the bustling center for trade they once were. The salty sea air now drifted in over ships and warehouses that had long been abandoned by the executives. But, in their wake, a new type of resident had moved in. It was now a center of activity for the criminal underworld, as well as many unique brands of entertainment.

"WELCOME, TO _SUPER FIGHT CLUB _!" Said an announcer. Around him, the crowd shouted and started shaking the cage he stood in the center of.

"Here are the rules," he went on after the tide receded a little. "Rule number one: You do not talk about Super Fight Club. Rule number two is no smoking. Rule number three: You _do not _talk about Super Fight Club. Rule number four: Underpants must be worn on the inside. Rule number five: _You _…" He held out his microphone to the audience and they responded.

"You do not talk about Super Fight Club!"

"Exactly. Rule number six… there is _no _rule number six. And rule number seven: No poofters. That concludes the reading of the rules. So, without further ado, I will now introduce the participants in tonight's match to determine a new number one contender. Introducing first, unbeaten in Super Fight Club, hailing from the former Soviet Union, the Russian cyborg, _Miiinssccc!! _"

To the announcers left, the cage door creaked open and a man dressed in jeans and a vest simply walked in. This wasn't a venue for flashy pyrotechnics, although many of the fighters could create their own. This man however, was impressive enough already. At nearly seven foot tall and seemingly composed of pure muscle. The right side of his clean shaven head was covered by a metal plate around an electronic eye. Most of the crowd cheered; some weren't sure whether it was appropriate to support a foreigner but eventually went with the flow.

"See how they cheer Boo," Minsc fought back a tear. Boo couldn't hear, as he was back in the dressing room watching the fight on a screen. "Yes, comrades! Minsc is here to drink sloppily over the slapped bottoms of evil-doers!"

"Folks, I think he means he's going to open a can of _whoopass here tonight _!" The announcer said excitedly.

"Is that not what Minsc said?"

"And his opponent, from Baldur's Gate, also unbeaten in the world of Super Fight Club, _Blue Lightning _!"

Blue lightning entered the cage on the opposite side from Minsc, and certainly lived up to his name in that he was blue and that the air around him was literally filled with electricity.

"I'm going to send you back to Russia… in _pain _!" The blue man cried.

"You are a very nasty and rude little man," Minsc noted. "When Minsc is done you will be… black all over!"

The announcer hastily retreated as the two super humans charged for each other. Minsc was far bigger than his opponent so the crowd expected to see Blue Lightning fly. Instead, the instant the Russian was about to get his powerful hands around him, sparks started flying everywhere. Minsc's cybernetic components where in danger of burning out and he was forced to retreat.

"Ha! You can't come near me!" Blue Lightning boasted. "But me? I don't have to be close to hurt you!"

Blue Lightning flicked back his hand and a long whip composed of pure electricity crackled then snapped towards Minsc. It did so again and again, the light was too bright for the audience look at for long. When the Blue man finally relented, the place Minsc was standing was surrounded by hissing steam and smoke.

The audience gasped when the fog cleared. Minsc just stood there. His jeans and vest had been stripped away, but otherwise he seemed completely unharmed. He had to wonder though, so looked down.

"Ah… is good job Minsc remembered to wear his underpants on the inside," the Russian said. He then looked at his opponent, who was a rather surprised, then completely shocked when Minsc, standing there in just his underpants, pulled out a small crossbow.

"Wh-where the hell were you hiding _that _?" Blue Lightning gasped.

"Minsc is big and has many places in which to hide his toys," The Russian explained. He pulled the trigger and a bolt struck his opponent squarely in the chest but didn't penetrate anywhere near deep enough to cause a fatal wound. Blue Lightning was only confused for a moment… then he realized he could no longer feel the static he was used to.

"You… you found a way to diffuse me?" He almost cried.

"Ha-ha!" Minsc roared and started to charge. "You were right Boo! You were right !"

From then on, the contest was really no contest. Minsc took his opponent in one hand and tossed him over the twenty foot high steel cage in the manner of a small boy throwing an unwanted toy over his neighbor's fence. The crowd roared its approval.

"Remember… the butts of all evil doers will one day meet the boot of Minsc!" The Russian assured them. "And eat your vitamins!"

Unseen, even by Minsc's electronic eye, was one spectator way up on the second tier hiding his face the shadows and gently stroking a fat white cat. He had been only mildly entertained by the bout. The big disappointment, however, was no-one had been killed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #003 **

"Imoen!" Minsc exclaimed and made to embrace his old companion in a hug. Imoen stepped back a step, and indicated that a pat on the shoulder would be fine. It wasn't that she didn't share his joy, but a seven foot, four hundred pound Russian bear with muscles one hundred times stronger than a normal human's could easily cause her a lot of damage if he lost even a tiny bit of his restraint.

After stopping off to change into a shirt and jeans, Imoen hadn't found it too hard to find this place. It was just a matter of following the sounds of battle. It hadn't been hard at all to get into the fighters locker rooms either, since the security outside was non-existent. The crooks that ran this operation didn't need to fear any cops busting in, since they had kind of an unspoken agreement. Cops stayed away from the docks and let the gangs police themselves.

It actually worked pretty well. Indeed, many ordinary citizens felt the gangs did a far better job maintaining order than the police ever did. At least, no one who said anything different was ever heard from.

To be honest though, Imoen had been a little worried about coming here. It had been a year since she'd seen Minsc and that hadn't exactly been a happy time for either of them. But now it was like being in a room with an enormous kid. Minsc always had a naïve and trusting way of looking at the world. He was completely unaffected by all the nastiness and cynicism that other people too often succumbed to.

"It's good to see you, y'big lug," Imoen gave him a little slap on the arm.

"And," Minsc looked at a Yoshimo for a moment, his brows burrowed in concentration. "A friend of Imoen's!" He eventually exclaimed happily and gave Yoshimo a gentle pat too. The Japanese man found it hard not to yelp when he felt his spine being compressed.

"This is Yoshimo," Imoen introduced her new companion. Of course, it was too soon to tell whether he was a friend or not. She couldn't read him like she could most people. Being a professional thief of course, he never gave anything away.

"Ah… Well, Minsc knew you would return!" Almost every sentence Minsc spoke sounded like it really needed at least three exclamation marks to do it justice, but it would be a bit of eyesore. "Boo… Boo had doubts. He said little Imoen was no longer interested in wiping clean the butt cheeks of evil, but Minsc said it was just a rut and you would be back. And now you are! Minsc and Boo and you and… friend… the four of us can be heroes again!"

For a moment the room was very quiet, as there was nothing anyone could say that would match Minsc's level of enthusiasm. Imoen even felt a little guilty. You see, she really wasn't interested in being a hero. She couldn't be, not without Diana. No, she was just in it for the money. Hopefully to find some answers to the strange dreams she'd been having, but mostly for the money and for the trip to all the nightlife capitals of Europe she'd finally be able to afford. She did not feel it was wise to try explaining any of this to Minsc though. She just hoped Greek men liked red heads…

"So," Imoen stopped herself from daydreaming. "Where is Boo anyway?"

"Boo? Boo was here…" Minsc eyes darted around then he stomped off behind the rows of lockers. "Boo! Look who is here Boo! Boooo!"

"He is certainly a character," Yoshimo said quietly. He noticed that one of the lockers had the name 'Minsc' scrawled across it in crayon. "What happened to him? He used to be one of the greatest minds ever."

"He experimented on himself," Imoen explained. "Thought he could make himself even brainier, but…" she shrugged. It was pretty clear that experiment had gone badly wrong.

"A great tragedy."

"Kinda… but, in a way maybe things worked out for the better. Y'see, from what I hear, Doctor Rashemanovich wasn't exactly the most kind hearted fella'. In fact, he was a complete bastard. The Russians decided he was dangerous and stopped giving him money for his experiments. That's why he came here… course, our government didn't want to know him either, but he found a private corporation that had even less scruples than he did. Then the accident… then he met Dynaheir who taught him to be a force for good…"

"So… a tragedy with a happy ending."

"I wish," Imoen hid her face, recalling the battle with Sarevok and how she'd gotten everyone killed.

"I am sorry. Still, that such knowledge was lost…"

"It wasn't. Not all of it… you see, he'd also been experimenting with transferring bits of his mind into other bodies."

"Say hello Boo!" Yoshimo jerked as a hamster was suddenly thrust under his nose by Minsc.

"Er, h-hello… Boo?" The Japanese man stammered.

"Hamsters do not see so well, so Boo must get close to have a good look at you," Minsc explained. Boo stood up in Minsc's huge palm twitching his little whiskers. It seemed the rodent was indeed examining this stranger, and Yoshimo had his eyes fixed on the creature as well. Boo was in fact a white and orange Syrian hamster, not a Russian dwarf like you might have expected.

"Hm… never have I seen Boo's whiskers quiver so," Minsc continued. "But he is often tetchy when woken from his nap. Come… let us not dawdle here any longer. Let us resume our adventures together! Butt kicking's await!" 

Then someone coughed by the door. They all turned to see a tall thin man wearing a suit and tie. Imoen already didn't like him. After all if television taught us anything it was that the real villains were not the gangs of desperate thugs beating up people in the streets, but businessmen wearing suits and ties.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this touching reunion you all seem to be having," he said as he wiped his glasses with a handkerchief. "But… did I hear correctly, are you planning on going somewhere?"

"Minsc will be a hero again!" The huge man proclaimed. "So… Minsc will no longer be able to fight the champion."

"Ten bucks says this guys a lawyer," Imoen whispered to Yoshimo. Another thing about a thief's nature was that they couldn't resist a gamble every now and then.

"I accept," he briefly shook her hand to seal the deal.

"Perhaps you have forgotten that we had an agreement," The man walked in an arc towards Minsc. "You cannot just leave whenever you feel like it."

"Y'heard him chump, the deals off," Imoen crossed her arms in front of suit and tie man. Naïve and trusting, that was Minsc. He probably had no idea the Super Fight Club was not an entirely legal sport but a front for a criminal organization. Powerful as Minsc was, she knew the opponents were 'human plus' as well. She had no intention of letting her friend risk injury or worse now that she was here.

"I am sorry, I don't believe we have met," he turned towards her like a vulture. He just had to be a lawyer.

"I'm Imoen. Imoen… Winthrop," you see, it just didn't roll off the tongue the way a hero's name should.

"Of course, Minsc has talked about. You used to be Diana's sidekick, yes?" The man smiled. Imoen got that he'd said the word 'sidekick' as if to make it rhyme with 'annoying and useless companion who ought to have been written out in the first season'. He knew how to hit were it hurt.

"My name is Mason, the Salvatore family lawyer," he went on. Well, that was one up to Immy at least. Yoshimo was already reaching for his wallet. "Not to be confused with the guy on TV."

"Don't worry, no-one will be doing that," she took her ten dollars. "Now where is your boss? I want to speak to him about this 'agreement'."

"I've already said that I am the family lawyer. I am the man to speak to about matters." 

"Oh no… I'm not having all your clever lawyer chatter. All that talking in circles around the issue. I want to see the person in charge, so we can man to man… or, you know, something similar."

"You wish to speak to Fluffy? That will not be easy I'm afraid."

Fluffy? A nickname… maybe this guy was more than just the family lawyer? Let's not go there. It was probably just another lawyer trick to distract her. "Just tell me where I can see him."

"Above you," Mason nodded up and a little to her left. Imoen turned to look, then she suddenly bolted backwards colliding loudly with the lockers. Fluffy was a fat white cat. It was sat of the lockers with its sparkling green eyes locked on Boo, but dared not make a move while Minsc held the rodent. Imoen slipped to the floor with her eyes hard shut.

"What's wrong?" Yoshimo knelt beside her.

"I hate cats," Imoen whispered. "Always have… t-they're like kryptonite to me." 

"Mister Salvatore was never very imaginative when it came to names," Mason explained. "But, before he died two months ago… bad heart, very sad… he made a will leaving all the Salvatore's assets to Fluffy here."

"That's ridiculous," Imoen felt brave enough to open her, and upon seeing the cat had stayed were it was, felt brave enough to get to her feet. "You can't have a crime syndicate being run by an animal."

"I don't see how having a cat in charge is any stranger than having a hamster that contains the mind of a Nobel Prize winning engineer." 

"Alright… I'll let you have that one."

"Besides, I make all the important decisions on Fluffy's behalf."

"And since Fluffy cannot write a will," Yoshimo noted. "I suppose when he dies everything will belong to you and your firm."

"I hadn't thought of that," Mason grinned like a Cheshire… well you know. "Yes, I do believe your yellow friend is right. And Fluffy's eight now, so there's not long to wait. In the meantime, business must continue as usual. It would be most unwise for any of you to attempt to leave now… Hey!" The lawyer raised his voice a little when he saw Yoshimo reach inside his jacket. "You would not want me to call my guards. They are right outside and armed with weapons that, I assure you, would kill even Minsc."

"I was just going to have a cigarette, Mister Mason," Yoshimo slowly pulled the pack out. "It doesn't matter to me if Minsc fights or not. Would you care to join me friend?" He raised a cigarette out of the pack a little and offered it to Mason.

"Heh… I don't think I trust you, 'friend'."

"I understand," Yoshimo lit up. "One of us really is yellow."

The lawyers grin turned to barely concealed hate. He clearly didn't like being outwitted. "Alright," he said, stepping forward and quickly snatching the cigarette.

"Light?" The Japanese thief offered. Mason placed the cigarette in his mouth and leant forward, whereupon Yoshimo said 'Hiya!' and unleashed a chop to the back of the head knocking Mason out cold.

" _Smoooth _…" Imoen commented. "You didn't say you could do any martial arts stuff."

"It is something I prefer to keep secret," Yoshimo explained.

"Why? If I could knock a person out with one hit I'd want people to know about it. Maybe avoid some trouble."

"Perhaps… but I don't want people to think I'm nothing more than a stereotype. It would bring shame to my name." He then turned his attention to Fluffy.

"Forget it."

"What?"

"You're thinking we should snatch the cat because if Mason can't prove its dead he won't be able to get all the Salvatore's estate, so we can blackmail him with it. Well I ain't in to that sort of thing, and there is absolutely no way I am going to sit in the car with that animal." 

"Very well," Yoshimo gave in. "Shall we depart then?" 

"Sooner the better… is there another way out of here Minsc?" The big man didn't. She found him staring at Mason's nearly motionless form. "Minsc?"

"In the arena, Minsc stands for honor and integrity. Would it not be lacking in honor for Minsc to forget his promise to Mason?"

"Haven't you being attention?! Mason's a bad guy Minsc… he killed Mister Salvatore so he could be in charge."

"Is that what he said? Minsc does not remember…"

"Well, not outright but we can deduce that's what he did," Imoen insisted, but Minsc didn't seem fully convinced. "Look, there's this girl see," she produced Yoshimo had provided her and handed it to him. "And she's trapped someplace and needs our help to get out."

"She is pretty," Minsc commented on the photo. "She looks sad... doesn't she look sad Boo?"

"Of course she is! They keep doing wicked, evil things like stick chewing gum in her hair and stuff… probably worse even than that. I need you to help me rescue her Minsc," Imoen pleaded. "I'm not sure I can be a hero on my own."

The huge man looked between Imoen's pleading eyes and the sad girl in the photo. It didn't take him long to make his mind up. "Minsc will slap silly the faces of men who would do such things to a fair maiden! There is no other exit from this room, but just give Minsc a moment," he said and ran through the wall. 

"Great," Imoen rolled her eyes, knowing the noise will have gotten someone's attention. "Better run."

Fortunately the hole Minsc had made led straight outside, so they ran to the car Yoshimo had rented. Only, when they got there, the tires were gone. And the windows, the CD player. And the engine.

"I warned you about this neighborhood," Imoen shrugged.

"We will take Minsc's car," the man pushed on button his key ring. The roar they all heard was like a whole pride of very hungry Lions. The car rolled up next to them, the whole ground rumbling as it came. It wasn't exactly a sleek design; it had no windows and mostly consisted of a number of flat metal panels joined together. One of them hissed and slid open. "Minsc calls his car Dynaheir now." 

"That's sweet Minsc," Imoen placed a hand on him, but he clearly he was a little embarrassed at being a sentimental old oaf.

"She's more like a tank," Yoshimo commented. In fact, it was bigger than a tank.

"It's something Minsc brought with from Russia," Imoen explained. "Experimental multi-terrain vehicle… it can go under too. It can probably get us to that island, if you haven't already made arrangements. Think I'll drive."

Inside was surprisingly roomy, although clearly this vehicle had been designed more for functionality than comfort. There were jagged edges everywhere and a number of valves and dials littered the walls. At the back there was some sort of workbench and tools and even a bunk bed. Judging from the remains of meals on one of the seats and the aftershave, it seemed this was were Minsc had been living for the past year.

Imoen sat herself down, hoping she could remember how to drive this thing. Really, all she had to do was turn the video cameras on. From then on it was just like driving a truck. It had been a while though, and she couldn't read Russian so she could only hope she remembered correctly and didn't blow them all up.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the panels in front lit up like she recalled.

"In Soviet Russia, car drives you!" A computer voice said cheerfully. Minsc had warned them never to use the auto pilot. He didn't explain why, because he couldn't remember, but turning on the auto pilot would be a very bad thing. Maybe it was just something the Russians had never gotten to work quite right. In any case, Imoen heeded the warning and set to manual control.

By the time she did, it seemed Mason's men had found them. Bullets ricocheted off the vehicles armor plates… but there was something else. It almost felt like a wave was hitting them. Through the cameras Imoen could see that some of the gang members were firing some kind of energy weapon. 

A little unusual for mobsters… but, Imoen knew such weapons had been in development. It was only a matter of time before crooks got hold of them. Luckily, aside from rocking them a bit, the blue plasma bursts didn't seem to have much effect on Dynaheir. 

"Alright, let's go," the red head put her foot down and they started to thunder away. Minsc, seated facing the side of the vehicle, left a little parting gift for his old employer as it was fair to say he wasn't going to get any more work from them.

A tube opened on Dynaheir's surface, then expelled a small missile into the side of a warehouse. The resulting dust and debris scattered the mobsters in all directions and covered their escape.

And so, Imoen was getting the old team back together. What was left of it. Only Jaheira was missing, but… she doubted it would be possible to get her back, what with Jaheira being a member of the Harpers Guild, self appointed protectors of the entire Earth, and her just being a failed sidekick.

"Ah, it feels good to be back," Minsc sat back and allowed himself to stretch. "Now the butts of evil will learn once again to fear Minsc's boot print." He still had the photo and examined it closely for some time to come.

For Minsc's sake, she only hoped the girl was someone worth saving. She had doubts. After all, if television had taught her anything else it was that pretty blondes did nothing but cause trouble. Maybe it was a little short sighted to immediately judge people based on stereotypes she'd seen on TV, but it had rarely let her down so far.

"Where e're evil dost lay its dirty feet we shall mop the floor with its buttocks," Imoen was finding it hard to resist Minsc's enthusiasm for adventure.

"Beautiful," the big man murmured. It was clear he hadn't heard any of Imoen's words though.

You see? She was causing trouble already.


	4. Chapter 4  Carnival, Part One

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #004  
Carnival, Part One **

_Meanwhile, on a made up island located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean:_

_"You… you won't get away with this!"_

_"Ha. You are precious, my dear. Exactly how precious we will find out soon enough. If you are hoping to be rescued, you can forget it! We're surrounded by fifty of my best men, the only way in is constantly monitored by camera, laser trip wires and numerous dastardly traps, plus we're in a bunker on the moon. There's just no-one that brave or stupid." _

_"You son of a bitch!"_

_"Well of course I am, Miss Kitty. But, I am a hound of my word. If your daddy meets my demands you will be released."_

_"I will?"_

_"Of course. My men will show you to the air-lock right away. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to… Get me the President of Earth!"_

_"What do you want Houndslow?" _

_"Ahhh… Mister President. As you can see, we are holding your daughter hostage. Fail to meet my demands and she will executed on live television in front of the entire world!"_

_"You son of a…"_

_"Yes, we know that."_

_"Where is she?!"_

_"Oh, don't play games Mister President. You can see her tied in steel chains right behind me."_

_"What are you talking about? There's no-one there."_

_"What? Damn you incompetent rats! Who was supposed to be watching her?"_

_"Gee… we's is all's real sorry's boss. But lookies here… there's a note!"_

_"What does it say?!"_

_"It says: 'Sorry's I's hads to leaves in such a hurry's. Maybe's next time's we's can's catch ups n'stuff.'"_

_"Signed!?" _

_"Signed, 'Chiktikka Fastpaws'."_

_"NOOOOOO!!" _

_"'P.S, Sorry about the grammar.'" _

"You watching this?"

"Nah. I gotta get back to the lab," one of the men wearing lab coats reached forward and switched off the cartoon. That action was immediately followed by a barely audible gasp. The men turned and noticed for the first time a small blonde woman stood in a darkened corner of the room wearing a simple yellow dress. She was undeniably pretty. The pointed ears were a bit odd though.

"Sorry Aerie," the oldest man said. "Were you watching that?"

"I-I… t-that is," Aerie flushed and immediately stood up straight, like a soldier caught dozing by a superior officer while on guard duty. "No… no, sir."

"Good. I have a job for you. I need you to take these files to Quayle in his office."

"Of course. Faster than Chiktik…" Aerie briefly smiled, but then gulped it back when she noticed the two researchers were staring at her with their arms crossed and one was tapping his toes. "I… I'll go at once, sirs." She quickly curtseyed and padded away.

"You know," one man said to the other. "I sometimes forget just how odd she really is."

--

"If weren't for a few minor physical differences, she would be almost indistinguishable from a human being," Quayle stared through his office window which overlooked the 'factory floor', as it were.

The senior researcher wiped away some sweat and used it to clean the lenses on his spectacles. The years of sitting in darkened rooms reading notes, staring at screens and not really doing any exercise to speak of were finally catching up with him. He was round and balding, barely a shadow of the young stud he believed he once was. His memory wasn't what it was either.

But, he did remember clearly the conditions in the facility when he first came here, after the previous lead researcher had been mauled by one of his own experiments. Even now, down there on the floor, some of the tanks still contained the lifeless remains of previous attempts to recreate the ELF that had fallen into the possession of De'Arnise Industries. Quayle had put a stop to that. The level of genetic engineering used to create Aerie was way beyond anything even he understood. Which, by default, meant no one on Earth understood it. And then you got into the moral and philosophical concerns surrounding the creation of a whole new species from scratch…

"You let it wander freely around the facility?" The old man squinted to see the woman sat behind his desk. At least he assumed it was a woman. Myopia starts setting in pretty early in this occupation. Even when he put his specs back on he couldn't be completely sure, but the breasts and the miniskirt definitely suggested a female. She'd arrived from the mainland that morning and had a name like Morgan or something. He hadn't paid much attention, but apparently she was here to report on the research.

"She'd been cooped and forgotten about in that cell so long every part of her had atrophied," Quayle explained. "Her heart was weak; she was no longer even able to stand. If I hadn't intervened when I did, well… she'll have died for sure, and then we won't have learnt all the things we have since. She's been quite useful in assisting us."

"Allowing the ELF time to exercise is one thing, but giving it access to the library and computers?"

"Of course," Quayle found his attention was once again being drawn back towards his window, although he wasn't really looking at anything beyond it. "She's just as curious about us as we are about her."

He remembered when he'd first examined Aerie. He'd found evidence of numerous injuries that hadn't been documented by any of his predecessors. He wished he could say he'd been surprised, but with no laws protecting her and no allies outside who might come to her aid, it was no shock at all that some of the workers chose not to restrain their baser instincts with the ELF.

"Tests indicate a high level of intelligence," Miss Morgan flicked through her notes. Quayle assumed it was 'Miss', as he hadn't noticed any rings. His eyesight wasn't too good though. "How can we be sure it won't try to send a message?"

"To whom?" The researcher dismissed the notion. "Besides… the computers she has access to are not networked at all."

"And who is making sure it isn't able to access anything else?" Miss Morgan continued voicing her concerns, but Quayle no longer heard her. He was remembering that he'd proposed to someone once. It hadn't worked out though. He'd been making exciting breakthroughs in cryogenics and ended up being six years late for his own wedding.

It was probably for the best. He was in love, but it was hard to imagine he could have settled down. Still, he regretted not having a family and that he'd left it too late now. He supposed Aerie was all he had. She didn't just look human… her psyche was very similar as well. The ELF had formed an emotional bond to him as a way to help herself cope.

"Quayle!" Hannah Morgan slammed her hand down on the desk.

"Er, hello, yes?" The senior researcher acted like she'd just walked into the room. As far as he remembered, she had. She was wearing a very short skirt, the type that wouldn't have been allowed when he was young. If only he'd been born thirty years later.

"You don't even hear me do you?"

"Yes," he vaguely recalled that he had been talking to someone a few minutes ago. Or was it hours? What had it been about? "Are you the dietician?"

"Hmph," Miss Morgan started writing something. "I'm concerned that you're not all here… I'm going to have to recommend you be examined by a doctor. In the meantime, the life form is free to move around the facility, but I want it watched at all times."

"Two sugars, please."

"Right. I'm just going to stop speaking to you now," she turned her attention to another scientist, not as old as Quayle but just as round and was sweating a lot more. "Kalah… your department has been studying the life forms telekinetic powers?"

"Y-yes," Kalah stammered and avoided any eye contact. Quayle looked surprised he was here… he hadn't noticed the door open. "It's not… t-that is, it…yes…"

"I'm transferring you."

"What?!" Kalah suddenly looked up, flabbergasted.

"You haven't gotten us results, so we're returning you to the mainland. There's a vacancy in one of our cosmetic departments there, far better suited to someone of your abilities."

"Co-cosmetic research?" Kalah almost spat angrily.

"Who said anything about research? You'll be working in one of our stores."

"B-but," he bounced across and started tugging desperately on Quayle's lab coat. "You… you can't let them do this to me!"

"Oh, it's you," Quayle said after adjusting his specs. "I'm sorry Kalah. I recommended you be transferred. You just… you're not a good scientist. Your methods are questionable, and your theories need to be examined in much more detail before we can think about testing. I'm just afraid that, sooner or later, someone's going to get hurt."

"I'm sure I don't need to remind you of the consequences if you breathe a word about this place to anybody," Hannah started gathering her papers into her suitcase. "I expect you on the helipad in two hours. Good day, gentlemen."

She walked out, leaving Kalah with a snarl across his face and Quayle wondering where his rubber duck was.

--

"Who's a rebel without a pause?" Lifeless grey corridors like this one constituted most of Aerie's physical world, but since there was no one else around she tried to inject a little color by singing, very quietly, the theme to her favorite cartoon. "Why, it's Chiktikka Fastpaws! Who is not afraid of Jaws? Why it's…" and so on like that, until the writer had obviously ran out of words that rhyme with paws.

It wasn't until she rounded the next bend that she ran into a group of five security guards in black uniforms, and upon doing so she fell flat on her face, dropping the file she was carrying and scattering the papers everywhere.

"Watch where you're going, freak," their leader, a burly man with a dark moustache, said, even though he had clearly stuck his leg out and deliberately tripped her.

Aerie spun around, anger flashing across her face for an instant. But it only took that instant for her to remember the reality of her situation, which was that she was outnumbered five to one. A lot more than that if you calculated it by body mass. She got up to her knees and started picking up papers.

"I-I'm sorry," she muttered despondently. Maybe she had walked into him… it had all happened pretty fast. Her memory just wasn't as clear about it as it had been a second ago.

"What was that?" The man, whose name was Buck and he'd made his entire career out of being a bully, just missed her with his spit. Aerie looked up. Somehow, just her blue eyes seemed to quiver.

"I said I was sorry," she said only slightly louder.

"That's not what you said," he told her. "That's not what any of you heard her say, is it?" His underlings just shrugged.

Aerie sighed and looked away. If he was going to hit her, she wished he would just get on with doing so. She didn't understand why he felt this need to fabricate some justification for it. Her actions seemed only to enrage him further, as if her very existence didn't do that enough.

"You'll damn well look at me when I'm talking to you!" Buck grabbed her by the jaw and pulled her close so that they were almost eye to eye. It was only then that any of his underlings decided to intervene.

"Leave it Buck. We're back on duty in five minutes," an underling said. "Besides, you know the old man won't like it." The threat of being reprimanded by Quayle seemed the only thing to give Buck pause. The old man did have some friends high up in the organization. He let Aerie go, allowing her to fall back down on her butt.

"He's too damn soft on it if you ask me," he lamented while Aerie stared up at him catching her breath. "Treats it like its damn human, but it's not. It's like, a mockery of us." He shook his head and started to walk away.

Aerie didn't take her eyes off him as he traversed the corridor. She sat with her hands on her knees struggling with her breath and a single tear just escaping her left eye. She should have done something. She'd wanted to do something, but… there was nothing she could do. Other then pick up the file she was supposed to deliver and continue trying to survive this existence.

As she was doing that, a large crowd of eight or nine researchers came running along the corridor and almost flattened her. Moments later she was on the move again and soon found out what they had all been running for.

It was as she was passing the security gate that led to the holding cells she heard the pitiful screaming and wailing, and her acute senses also picked the occasional thud of flesh against steel.

Some of the earlier experiments had survived, but the poor creatures lived their lives in constant pain. Aerie wished there was something she could do to help them… she was at least partially responsible for their plight. If she'd never come here… but she couldn't even help herself right now.

--

Kalah returned to his lab and dismissed the staff. He could barely control the rage he felt as they all left, but he couldn't allow them to suspect anything. He focused his attention on an object.

It was a strange gold dragon-like thing, about three feet long. One of the objects De'Arnise industries had 'acquired' along with Aerie. It had some electrical components, but they had never got it to function. It just stood in the glass case, its beak bowed. According to the ELF, it was supposed to have been some kind of probe designed to seek out intelligent life on other planets. So what the hell was it doing here?

The last member of staff shut the door, leaving Kalah alone in the dimly lit laboratory. Quayle must have known he was getting close. That was why the old man wanted him out of the way, so he could claim credit for all the discoveries himself.

"You'll be sorry old man," Kalah mused to himself. "I think perhaps it's time." He found his desk on the far side of the lab and took a tape recorder from one of the drawers.

"We have believed for some time that the Engineered Life Form, designated Aerie, uses the crystal to focus her mental energy, allowing her to perform incredible telekinetic feats," Kalah dictated while he started to fiddle with his keys. "Without it, she is completely powerless. What we haven't been able to understand, is why it only responds to her and no other living creature. After much analysis, my team and I believe we have identified a previously unknown element in the life forms blood that is what the crystal reacts to," he reached down and unlocked another drawer, this time taking out a syringe.

"What my team doesn't know is that for the past few days I have been administering doses of the element to myself. It seems the most expedient way to prove if we were correct," Kalah managed not to wince as he injected the needle straight into his veins. He then dropped the needle away, heading straight to the safe located next to the bronze dragon.

He punched in the code, and a section of the wall slid open. Within was the crystal he had spoken of, blue in color and only about the size of a pea. It was set into a twisted silver tiara.

"Yes!" Kalah grinned. "The crystal glows to my touch. I will now place the crown on myself…" he collapsed as soon as he did so, momentarily stunned by what he felt. He returned unsteadily his feet, continuing the experience. "It's… incredible. Not what I was expecting. I feel… energy, surging through me. But where is it coming from? I…"

A thought occurred to him. He twisted his neck and looked at the dragon, and then he pointed. A stream of flame erupted from his finger, shattering the glass case.

"Incredible!" Kalah jumped excitedly. "I just had to imagine it and it happened! With power like this I… I could…" he slumped again. "I am experiencing dizziness… it seems at least a fraction of the energy is drawn from my own body. Still… the things I could do… heh, I don't think they will be transferring me anywhere now. In fact, I think… what… what is this? I…" Kalah's body suddenly convulsed. "I don't understand! I feel… I… something is trying to get inside me!"

The mad scientist's body crumpled to the floor. His blood boiled, his skin began to bubble… seconds later he started radiating a brilliant light, and that was when he started to scream.

--

"Quayle?" Aerie tentatively knocked at the door.

"Hmm?" Quayle was half asleep behind his desk. "Yes Aerie. Do come in my dear."

"I-I was asked to bring you this," she handed him the file. The old man glanced at it and put it down on the desk. "Is… is something wrong? You've seemed very distracted lately… I mean, more than usual."

"I'm just getting old," Quayle smiled, but there was little humor in what he was thinking. He was getting old. Aerie had become like a daughter to him, but he knew he wouldn't be around much longer to protect her from the likes of Buck and his cronies.

"You don't seem so old to me," Aerie smiled sweetly and kissed his forehead. "There's a lot of mischief you've still to cause."

True, there was all kinds of mischief he could get into now that he could never have got away with before. Like he could slap waitress's bottoms and use sexual innuendos and people would just laugh and say he was a character. But he was so old those things just no longer appealed to him as much.

"I just wish I could see you happy," Quayle took her by the hand.

"You… you do make me happy," she assured him. "I thought… I thought I would never know kindness, until I met you. A-and… you've taught me so much."

"You're a good girl," the old man smiled, even though he knew she was lying. He was senile, not stupid. He never taught her anything. She spent hours in the library teaching herself. And she wasn't happy. She could never be happy in this place. Even though she was treated better now for the most part, there were too many unhappy memories and she longed to see outside with her own eyes and not on a video.

"There are so many beautiful things," Quayle had a hazy look in his eyes. "Mountains and rivers and… I remember once as the sun set, I watched a ship sail away on a sea of liquid gold. I just wish you could see these things for yourself."

"That… that would be nice," Aerie said softly. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine it. But, the truth was, Miss Morgan's fears were unfounded. Aerie had the intelligence to facilitate an escape, but she had given up any hope of ever leaving this place long ago. Even if she could get out, she would be in an alien world. She would have no idea where to go or how to survive on her own.

It was at that moment Quayle resolved to find a way to get her out. He was sure he could find some old friend who owed him a favor, someone who would at least teach her what she needed to know.

"Aerie, I…" and it was at that moment the whole island shook with a deafening roar. The lights started to flicker, then went completely dead. Aerie clutched the old man tightly in the pitch blackness.

"W-what happened?" She asked, her voice trembling a little.

"I don't know," Quayle admitted. "I have to get to the control room."

"Here," Aerie took him by the hand and started to guide him. She could still see in the dark, but moment's later emergency power kicked in anyway.

"What the hell just happened?" They found Miss Hannah Morgan trying to fix her usually well kept reddish brown hair. It was the first time she'd actually laid eyes on Aerie during her visit, and she regarded the ELF a little disdainfully.

"Any speculation at this point would be pure… speculation," Quayle answered. "We haven't been expecting any seismic or volcanic activity…" today however, was full of surprises, a section of the wall in front of them blowing away being just the latest.

For a moment no-one could see anything through all of the dust, but they heard footsteps. Loud, heavy footsteps moving purposefully towards them.

"What isss happening to meee…" a voice hissed.

"Kalah?" Quayle had to wipe his spectacles yet again. The creature he saw was wearing Kalah's clothes, or at least the tattered remnants of them. He'd grown to about eight feet, his skin had turned completely orange, and his canines… well they'd grown too. It wasn't clear whom he had spoken to. His yellow eyes only opened briefly then shut. He appeared to be in great pain.

"The crystal," Aerie said. The tiara seemed to have become fused to Kalah's skull. "You used the crystal… oh no…"

"Kalah, you fool!" Quayle shouted. "This is exactly what I was afraid of."

"Y-you don't have the gene."

"G-gene?" Kalah repeated.

"The gene that masks my presence from… from the creatures that inhabit witch space. T-that's where the crystal draws its power from," Aerie explained. "Y-you have to let us help you…" Aerie reached out, but Kalah backed away. "If we don't remove the crystal, it will take over your entire body."

"W-why… why didn't you tell us this before?"

"She did, you idiot!" Quayle kept shouting. "I told you not to try anything until we had a better understanding. But you just wanted the glory of making a discovery yourself didn't you? Bah, I should have kicked you out months ago."

"I'm not an idiot!" Kalah roared. "Stop speaking down to me! You… you're just afraid. Afraid of my power!" The mad scientist roared again, but this time a pulse of energy swept out, blowing the three spectators twenty feet. By some small miracle, no-one seemed to have broken anything after slammed against a wall, although Miss Morgan's hair was beyond easy repair.

Some of the facility security staff marched by them, took up positions and started to fire on Kalah. Every bullet melted before touching him, and then in response, tongues of flame leapt to each guard, incinerating them instantly.

"I will teach you old man," Kalah started striding towards the three survivors. "You and Miss Morgan and your pet… you will all be my slaves, forever!"

"Aerie," Quayle panted. "You have to run. Get Miss Morgan someplace safe."

"No! I-I can't leave you," Aerie insisted. Quayle took a deep breath. He knew he would have to be hard on her in order to save her life.

"Listen, you stupid girl," he spat. "You were made to obey your masters, right? Well, I'm your master now, and I have given you an order!"

"I…" Aerie turned away sadly. She looked at Hannah, who was curled up into a protective ball and shaking with fear.

"Get!"

She had no choice but to obey. She took hold of Miss Morgan and they started to run, while Quayle stood to face Kalah.

--

Tears streamed down Aerie's face, but she kept running, just like Quayle had told her to. They ran until they could run no more. She had no idea how far or long exactly… everything was so confusing. She fell against a wall and placed hands on knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"Oh god, oh god," Hannah curled up again and started to rock back and forth. "We're all going to die. You," the woman grabbed Aerie's arm. "You have to get me out of here! I-I have a son! Please," she wept.

"I… I-I will try my best," Aerie answered quietly. She felt unable to make any bold promises however. Especially based on what she now saw.

"What's wrong?"

They were back by the security gates leading to the holding cells. Across the hall was a small office, and through the window Aerie could see the screen displaying the status of each cell. Some distance away, they heard gunshots accompanied by feral growls, confirming what she saw.

"They're all free…"


	5. Chapter 5 Carnival, Part Two

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #005  
Carnival, Part Two **

After days at sea Imoen found herself longing for the luxuries of home. Like a room that stayed still. That would be nice. Another thing that would be nice would be if there was a place she could change her clothes without two men watching over her.

"Just how do you manage to get into that suit?" Yoshimo quipped when he saw her dressed from her neck to toe in a dark blue rubber cat suit.

"A few vodka martinis' usually does it," the red head winked. "Are we there yet?"

"We have the island in sight," he showed her the display. The island looked like just a large chunk of rock floating in the middle of the ocean. That at least seemed consistent with the first part of Yoshimo's story. If this was a newly created island as he said then vegetation wouldn't have yet had a chance to take hold. The rest she wasn't so sure about.

She'd had a chance to read the documents she'd been provided about the facility and the Engineered Life Form. It wasn't a particularly thrilling read but something struck her. She watched the documentary channels… hadn't they only finished mapping the human genome a few years ago? This ELF was older than that. Imoen was no scientist, but it seemed wrong. They claimed to have 'programmed' every aspect of her DNA, creating a whole new species.

Inside Dynaheir the three of them had no time to themselves, so it was only yesterday while Yoshimo set up the radio to communicate with his employer that she finally had a chance to ask Minsc about it. Minsc didn't understand a word she was saying, but eventually he spoke to Boo and the hamster agreed that it seemed unlikely.

Whoever Yoshimo had spoken to wanted their identity kept secret and had masked their voice. He only confirmed what Yoshimo had already told her. They were to grab the ELF, alive if possible, and return with her to the mainland. There then followed very detailed instructions on where to drop her off and receive payment of one million dollars… yeah, right.

At first, this had seemed to Imoen like a great opportunity to make a quick buck whilst rescuing someone. But, now that she'd a few days to think and wasn't being so impulsive this whole thing sounded worse and worse. Project ELF, whoever they really were, wanted everything kept secret. The only way they could ensure that would be if none of the thieves lived long enough to tell anybody. They were just being used so that if they got caught beforehand they wouldn't know enough to incriminate anyone besides themselves. She decided it was best not to tell Yoshimo about her suspicions… she wasn't sure if he was in on it. If she kept playing along she might get answers.

There was another thing though…

"De'Arnise Industries?" Imoen had said out loud as soon as she'd read it shortly after they'd left land.

"You know about them?" Yoshimo yawned. While Minsc worked tirelessly keeping them on course there hadn't been much for the other two to do.

"One of the richest families in the world," Imoen looked at him bemusedly. When Mister De'Arnise's wife died in a plane accident it had been all over the news, and surrounded by the usual conspiracy theories. Surely there wasn't a person alive who hadn't heard of them. "Dad's a respectable businessman," and we all knew about those. It was no surprise at all he was up to something illegal. "Daughter's a real Paris Hilton type… daddy gets her absolutely anything she wants."

"So?"

"So, they're rich. Not just rich, super rich. If any of us are identified they could have every gun for hire in the world using us for target practice."

"Then, we shall just have to be very careful that no one identifies us." 

And that had been the end of that conversation. It was too late for her to turn back now. The two of them could possibly infiltrate without being spotted. Minsc would have to stay on board Dynaheir unless there was a major emergency, as he was pretty unmistakable.

"Okay then, listen up," back in the present, Imoen held up the map she held. "There are some caves on the south side. We should be able to remain submerged and get inside undetected. There's a back door here that leads to a section of the facility that's just used for storage. Hopefully there won't be anyone in there."

That was the plan. At least getting inside the door would probably be very easy. Finding the ELF and getting out again? Not so easy… the total staff wasn't more than a hundred, so everyone inside probably knew everyone else who worked there, so they couldn't just steal a couple of lab coats and walk around freely. And moving inside ventilation shafts? That was only possible in movies. You could get inside them at certain places but couldn't go anywhere as the other end would become too narrow for anything larger than a rat.

"Minsc…" the big man approached Imoen, a big look of concern across his big face. "Minsc is not comfortable with Imoen facing bad men alone."

"That's the way it has to be Minsc," Imoen assured him. "I'll call you if I need you, but with any luck we'll be able to get in and out with out a fight," truth be known though, she considered it very unlikely they wouldn't get into at least one firefight along the way. "There's an odd saying you know… 'Luck of the Irish'. Look at the history… they've never really been that lucky…" she stopped herself when she realized she was rambling. She did that when she was nervous.

"Ahh… you feel uneasy too," Minsc knew her pretty well. "Minsc is eager to whip the cream of evil, but understands that at times it is better to stay quiet as a hamster. Come, Minsc has something to show Imoen," the Russian went to the back of Dynaheir and pulled out a case. "We have kept them since that day, but we, Minsc and Boo, we feel that they belong to you." He placed the case on the workbench, opened it almost reverently and turned it slowly to show Imoen the contents. The red heads eyes widened in both surprise and awe.

This was Diana's gear. Her costume, belt and weapons. And there was another smaller box inside about the length of a man's forearm. Imoen removed that carefully and dared to look inside. She gasped… the last time she had seen this had been in a dream.

Diana's Hell Pistol. Probably the most powerful and lethal handgun ever devised, although the hand it been made for had to have been at least as big as Minsc's. The merculite bullets it fired were more akin to minute missiles and capable of punching through any known armor… a well aimed shot could take out a tank, easy. Obviously, this was something Diana had reserved for only the most dangerous foes. It had rarely been used, and hadn't been drawn even when Diana had fought Sarevok.

"Why not, sis?" Imoen whispered to herself. ' _Why'd you have to let him kill you? Why'd you leave me here by myself?' _

The red head held up the weapon and watched the light gleaming off the well polished metal. Somehow it seemed alive… like it had some sort of will of its own, and it wanted her to carry it.

"No," she gasped and quickly placed it back. It had fault Diana and the others had died. She'd had a job to do and she failed. Diana had been a true hero. She had never failed to help anyone or do the right thing. Okay, she was annoyingly perfect in every way, but… Imoen just hasn't the right to any of this. "Thanks for showing me this Minsc… but I won't need any of that right now. I'll… think about what to do with it all later." 

Minsc was somewhat befuddled. The poor guy had only been trying to help her.

"I'll be fine fella'," she forced a smile for him. "You just get us into those caves." He nodded and went to the controls. "Deep breaths Immy, deep breaths," she whispered. Once that was out of the way she was still worried that she was out of practice, but she told herself it would all come back. 

It didn't take long for Minsc to get them inside the cave. Imoen attached her weapon belt and pulled on her jacket that concealed all manner of technical wizardry she was going to need. It had been a while. She'd forgotten what it had been like to pull on the black boots that provided an extra layer of protection for her knees and shins. Somehow, doing so made her feel safe.

Yoshimo was dressed a little less hi-tech, with black combat vest and fatigues. But he was ready. They opened the hatch on the top of Dynaheir and climbed out to begin their mission.

As promised, they were in a cave and found the back door nearby. It was heavy and sealed tight. It needed a pass card to be opened. Imoen attached a palm top computer and set to work cracking the code.

"Well this is weird," she said after a minute.

"What's wrong?" Yoshimo looked worried, possibly wondering if he'd made the right choice by coming to her. "Can't you open the door?" 

"No prob. This system's looser than Clinton… it's just that, it looks like the base is on emergency power."

"Why?" Yoshimo looked really worried now.

"I can't find that out from here, but it looks main power has been out for at least a few days. You still wanna go in?" There was really no point in asking. They'd sailed out into the middle of no where, there was no way they were leaving without at least looking around.

He nodded and they each pulled down masks. Imoen just had to press a few buttons and the door unlocked.

"Ta-da!" Imoen chimed triumphantly. "I wrote this software a few years ago. Still haven't found a door that could beat it. What? You don't believe me? I guess I'm not as stupid as you thought."

"I assure you," Yoshimo answered. "It would be impossible for anyone to be as stupid as I thought you were."

"You think I'm scared of you because you know karate? You wait till you see my moves… in fact you won't, because I'll be so fast. It may not even look like I land a single punch but in about forty or fifty years that person's heart is just going to suddenly stop beating. So watch what you say to me."

"Yes," Yoshimo looked to the side, trying to figure out exactly what she'd said but realized it was a waste of his brains resources. "Can we go in?"

"Sure." 

They entered quickly and ducked behind some containers. As the door started to swing shut behind them they realized there was no light inside the facility. Fortunately Minsc has supplied them with some compact night vision goggles so they wouldn't have to give themselves away by shining torches everywhere.

As expected, it was a storage area. Rows and rows of crates and boxes and an abandoned forklift. Nothing at all worth seeing.

"There should be an office just a couple of rooms ahead of us," Imoen had memorized the entire layout of the facility. "If there's a computer in there I may be able to hack into the system and set up remote access to all the surveillance cameras." The plan was, first to use them to find what they were looking for, then disable and re-enable as they moved around. Have them loop the same bit of footage back over and over until they were through. Hopefully that would fool security long enough for them to get in and out.

Already they felt something was very wrong. When they arrived in the office unhindered and found the computer terminal still functioning that feeling exploded somewhat,

"It's down," Imoen hacked in to the network as promised. "Camera's… motion sensors… all down. Only things working are the computers and the doors."

"Has the base been abandoned?" Yoshimo asked. "Perhaps they found out their secret lab was no longer secret."

"There's nothing in the log about an evacuation. Besides, it would be pretty dumb of them to do all that but leave the computers behind." 

"Unless they plan for it all to self destruct. I told you, they were originally researching geothermal energy here. We're sitting on top of a volcano."

"Do you always expect the worst?"

"That way, I can't be disappointed."

"Well… I haven't found anything about a self-destruct yet. There was a massive power surge about five days ago, and that's when all the log entries stopped. The base can run on emergency power for about a month…"

They heard something being knocked over outside and instantly took cover behind the desk. The door opened seconds later and a light started to search the room. Imoen strained her ears listening… she couldn't make out any footsteps, but there was a very low humming. The light went dead, but the humming remained. By her estimation it was right above… she took out her pistol. Whatever was there, it seemed they would have to take it out.

She shot up and shined her flashlight directly at it, hoping to blind it. It being some kind of bronze bird or dragon. It rose in the air, stopping just short of the ceiling. Its head started twitching between her and Yoshimo. It seemed to be waiting for something. 

Imoen held her fire, and the bronze bird slowly descended. It started looking at her, and its green eyes started to flash. She noticed Yoshimo was about to pull the trigger on his own gun. 

"Wait!" She said as forcefully as she could. He turned to her, looking for an explanation. "Look at its eyes."

"They're flashing," Yoshimo noted. "So?"

"Have you ever seen the film, Close Encounters?"

"Can't say I have." 

"Well I don't blame, it was pretty boring. I fell asleep, but when I woke up towards the end there was this spaceship and it played this tune and the people on the ground had to play it back to them."

"What does that have to with this?"

"You see the eyes… there's a pattern there, right? What I'm getting at, is maybe this is some sort of probe that's supposed to go to other planets. It thinks we're aliens, so it's giving us a test to see how smart we are."

"Even if it us, why would it be roaming free through the facility?"

"I don't know… but something's happened here and this thing might be able to help us."

Imoen used her flashlight to repeat the same pattern back to the probe. Its eyes went dim, and then it rotated three hundred and sixty degrees and started to float away… Imoen had no idea what was keeping it in the air, but she was sure there was some perfectly reasonable scientific explanation for it. It stopped a few feet away. The red head took a step towards it, and it moved, again stopping after a few feet.

"It wants us to follow it," Imoen said.

"What do we do now?" Yoshimo asked.

"Follow it," she shrugged. Maybe she was being impulsive again, but it seemed the best thing to do.

It led them across the entire level of the facility. The grey corridors probably looked pretty lifeless even when there were people here. Now the place was just plain creepy. And, it didn't take them long to find a body. 

"Look," Yoshimo nodded towards a hunched form, keeping his weapon at the ready. Imoen examined the corpse. A security guard by the looks of it, a man with a dark moustache. She was no doctor either, but he looked he'd been dead for days and it wasn't difficult to ascertain the cause of death. "What happened?"

"He panicked," Imoen explained. "He panicked and something got him. There's some kind of claw marks all over him… he was cut to pieces."

"How do you know he panicked?"

Imoen pointed to the gun in the man's hand. "Safety's still on," she made doubly sure that her weapon was ready to fire when she needed it to. "You think that girl could still be here?"

"We have to make sure."

"Minsc?" Imoen activated her radio. 

"Minsc is here and waiting!" The man boomed back at her. 

"This place is deserted, so you can come on in. Brings lots of big guns, and… hurry."

"At once! No Boo, there are no guns for hamsters. Your paws are too tiny to hold anything…" Minsc trailed off, leaving Imoen to face the silence.

They heard something again. It wasn't the probe; that had stopped at the end of the corridor they were in. It could have been Imoen's imagination, but Yoshimo heard it as well. It had come from a door behind them.

Imoen got to the door first, waited for Yoshimo to cover the other side and then went in. It looked like the cafeteria… the tables and chairs along with sandwiches that were a week old and cups of cold coffee were strewn all over the place. She couldn't see anything else but continued advancing slowly. Halfway across, she became satisfied the room was empty and turned around. Then she saw it.

Man sized, but somehow attached to the ceiling. It fell, batting Yoshimo aside when it landed. It was no man… it looked like some sort of half-man half-beast thing, with more teeth than in a toothpaste commercial. This was exactly what she'd seen chasing her in her dreams.

Fortunately, unlike the guard whose ID badge had read 'Buck', Imoen wasn't overcome by panic. Her weapon was at the ready and she started to fire. The damn thing was fast though… it was almost on top of her before she managed a hit.

It yelped like a wounded wolf and started to retreat back to the corridor. Imoen wasn't letting it go… whatever it was, it wasn't going to surprise her again. She pursued and found it hadn't got too far by the time she arrived in the corridor as well. It seemed she'd hit it in the leg and that had slowed it down. She had the creature plainly in her sights and was ready to take a head shot

All she saw next was a flash of yellow and something tackled her to the floor. Okay, so maybe Imoen's hand to hand skills weren't so good. She had never been a violent person by nature, and preferred avoiding fights anyway. Luckily, it seemed her opponent wasn't much better than her and got tired quickly, allowing Imoen to gain control and pin them to the floor. The red head shone her light in the persons face, so that she could see who it was and also to blind them so she could have a moment to breathe.

It seemed her assailant was a blonde woman, slightly smaller than her, with large blue eyes and pointed ears. The very Engineered Life Form they were looking for.

Maybe she was lucky after all.


	6. Chapter 6 Carnival, Part Three

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #006  
Carnival, Part Three **

The blonde stopped struggling and Imoen, who had managed to keep hold of her gun, stood and backed off a few steps, keeping the weapon trained on her attacker. The blonde was unarmed and the sad truth was anyone who could be pinned by Imoen wasn't much of a threat. But who could say what an Engineered Life Form could or would do? For all Imoen knew, she was somehow controlling those man-beasts.

The red-heads night vision glasses had been the first thing to go flying, so she kept the torch fixed on the ELF, who dragged herself across the floor on her butt and sat up against the opposite wall with her head bowed. She looked a doll who had been discarded there by a bored child. Her yellow dress was dirty and torn and Imoen could see numerous cuts and bruises across white skin that appeared to have never experienced sunlight. The blonde was pretty of course, like in the photo. Well, if you were going to design a person you wouldn't design one who was ugly, would you?

"Do you understand me?" Imoen realized she didn't yet know if the girl was even able to speak. The red-head crouched in front of the blonde so they were level. Blue eyes flicked up to meet her own, which Imoen took to mean 'yes'. "Do you speak?"

"W-who are you?" The blonde stammered whilst sucking in some air. All that answering a question with a question business… but at least it had answered Imoen's question and it was possible for them to talk. "What… what are you doing here? The company didn't send you," the ELF trailed off, turning her eyes away.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because…" the blonde bit her lip, perhaps wondering if it would be wise to finish but realized she no longer had a choice. "Because I-I think the company would have sent more people… and you look like thieves. Please… t-there's' nothing here. You should just leave."

"Look, Nancy Drew, I ask the questions and then _I _decide what I should do, got it?" Imoen waved her gun a bit to illustrate why she was in control. The ELF looked a little annoyed but remained silent. "Okay… now, do you have a name?"

"Yes… i-it's Aerie."

"Nice. Now, Aerie, what was that… creature, and why'd you stop me from shooting at it?"

"She was running away!" Aerie snapped angrily. "You had no need to kill her."

Imoen looked a little guilty under her mask. She had no doubt Diana would be telling her off as well… morally, sure, she should have let the thing go. Tactically though, that was a mistake and one that could well come back and bite them in the asses later. She saw the conviction in Aerie's eyes and decided the blonde was telling her the truth. Imoen started liking the girl, finding that naïve morality quite appealing. It seemed to remind her of some people she used to know...

"Alright," Imoen pulled off her mask, allowing Aerie to see her face. Hopefully the Engineered Life Form would understand it was a friendly gesture. Indeed, the blonde instantly became more relaxed. "My name's Imoen. We came here to rescue you."

"Me?" Aerie looked surprised and puzzled. "I… I can't leave."

"Why not?" now Imoen looked puzzled as well. "You just said there was nothing here."

"There isn't," Aerie said quietly. "Kalah's killed nearly everybody… b-but Miss Hannah and Quayle are still here. I won't leave until I know they're safe. Not… not willingly, anyway. But you should get out while you can… you don't know what he's capable of."

"You are going to have to slow down," of course, it was never going to be as simple as them all just walking out of here.

Yoshimo appeared at that moment. Imoen had seen him sent flying by the creature, but she knew he hadn't been badly hurt, since he surely knew how to land and all that. He'd probably been standing by the door listening to their conversation. Upon seeing that Imoen had removed her mask, he did likewise and gave Aerie a bow. She politely nodded back.

"I see you have found what we came for," he grinned to Imoen. "And have you also noticed, apart from the one guard, we have seen no other bodies?"

"I figured maybe those creatures had eaten them," the red head shrugged.

"No," Aerie sounded like she was a far greater distance away than she was. "They… they don't like the taste of human flesh. They prefer eating the rats…"

Yoshimo knelt by a pile of ash and picked out some objects to show Imoen. A ring, a watch… a gold tooth…

"Kalah," Aerie explained.

"Fortune favors us today," Yoshimo smiled. "We can leave with our prize now and no-one would ever know we were here. Anyone who comes to investigate would assume she burned with the rest of them."

"I won't go!" Aerie suddenly stood up and clenched her tiny fists. Despite losing to Imoen and being outgunned two to none it was clear she intended to fight them if she had to. "Please… if you help me save the others first, then I would go with you willingly."

"It is one million dollars standing there," he reminded Imoen. Of course, the two of them could easier overpower Aerie and drag her out. But then there was Minsc… they would have to keep the ELF drugged. If he found out they'd abandoned people in need just for the money he'd feel betrayed, outraged. You also had to consider that with her not being human, there was no telling for sure what effect drugs might have on Aerie.

"I-I have nothing to offer you, if money is all you care about," Aerie bowed her head, seeming resigned. A thought then occurred to her which caused her to brighten up just a bit. "Miss… Miss Hannah is someone of importance in the company, from what I gather. I'm sure if you got her out she could offer you some reward. But please help Quayle as well."

"You're going to have to tell us everything that's happened here," Imoen told her. She'd decided that, more important than any other concerns, how she would feel about walking away was what really mattered. What was she, really, moral or practical? Was it really enough for her to simply stay alive? Obviously, it wasn't enough for Aerie. She had a ticket out of this dungeon but refused to take it. There was once a little red haired girl, who Imoen dimly recalled, who would have braved anything to help her friends also.

"So, you're staying?" Yoshimo concluded.

"Can't walk away, can I?" Imoen explained. "I know what the safest, most practical thing to do is… but that's not really who I am. I'm sure I'm not a very good hero either, but for some reason I'm sure I'd rather be right than living. And you know what; I've done all the work getting us in here so I think I'm entitled to do something that I want to do."

"It would be rather crowded on Dynaheir with six of us," Yoshimo pointed out. "Plus, you do know the other risks?"

"Yeah… Hannah or Quayle might give us away. But really, do you have to be so…so…" Imoen's hand moved in small circles as if she was hoping to somehow tune in to the right word.

"Presagious?" Aerie suggested.

"Thanks. Yoshimo, stop being so presagious."

"As you wish then," the Japanese man bowed again.

"So… you're going to help too?"

"If only to protect my share of the money."

"T-thank you," Aerie bowed.

"What's with all the bowing?" Imoen's mouth quirked. "We're not exactly going to meet the Queen of England down here."

"Manners, friend," Yoshimo said. "They could get you a long way."

Imoen was about to respond when they heard a sound like thunder coming from above… but it wasn't from outside the base. Besides, the skies had been clear for miles around when they arrived.

"Kalah," Aerie said. "J-just… flexing his muscles. He rarely leaves the lab now… but, that's where he's holding Quayle."

"Why don't you start telling us everything from the beginning?" Imoen suggested.

"I…I will try. But not here… I left Miss Hannah alone. I only went out to find her food. Please follow me."

Aerie slowly walked away and the other two started to follow when they noticed the bronze bird again floating towards them.

"It's just Ammale," Aerie explained. "Kalah activated him, but he immediately sought me out. I… I tried to reprogram him to find other survivors but… I-I couldn't undo all of his original programming. He's never returned with anyone, until now. I… I don't think there's anyone left to find."

"He was leading us to you?" Said Imoen.

"Yes. Do not worry… he's incapable of hurting you."

As they continued through the facility Imoen turned her attention back to her equipment.

"Minsc?" She whispered into a microphone. "Is my transponder working?"

"It is," the Russian's voice boomed back through the speaker. "Minsc and Boo will be with you soon."

"Have you seen any of those creatures yet?"

"Negative."

"Well, so you know there are some sort of animals alive in here. They could be dangerous," though honestly, she doubted they could pose a threat to the cyborg.

"Minsc will watch like a lemming watches for cliffs."

"Er, yeah. Not sure what that means but, see you soon. I hope," she switched off and turned attention back to the pointy eared Engineered Life Form walking in front of her. "What are you supposed to be anyway? A Vulcan?"

"Vulcan? W-why would you think that?" Aerie turned back to her, tilting her head and raising her right eyebrow so that a neat question mark could be drawn straight across her face, with her small round lips making the dot. Obviously, she didn't understand the reference. "I… I wish there were some Vulcan's here," she muttered. "They'd know how to deal with Kalah."

Realization spread across Imoen's face. She didn't know why hadn't realized it before, since really it had been so obvious from the very beginning.

"You are an alien, aren't you?" She said.

"I'm not from this planet, if that's what you mean," Aerie said like it was no big deal.

"I knew it! All that stuff about Engineered Life Forms was a cover because they'd found an actual alien…"

"Impossible," Yoshimo protested, shaking his head. "Look at her… the chances of a life form evolving on other planet to so closely resemble a human being are none at all."

"My entire race was created by aliens called the Seldarine," Aerie explained, again her voice was a long way away. "I think it likely they based our design on your species. Earth would have been the greatest discovery in my people's history… i-if I could have told them about it… But it's not important now."

"Not important?!" Imoen had to restrain herself from jumping up and down. "You're a real live alien… that's like the most important thing ever. People will want to know."

"I suppose. I-if I may ask, ma'am, who would be interested in rescuing me?"

"Oh… they call themselves Project ELF or something."

"I see," Aerie looked down sadly, clearly enthused by who her rescuers were.

"You know them?"

"Yes. They were the people who had me originally. They…" she suddenly trailed off. "It's not important. What's important is helping Quayle."

Imoen zipped up her lip for the time being. But she felt giddy, like a little kid again. It had been a long time since she'd felt like that. There were a million questions waiting to be asked about life on other planets, alien culture… and these people, they just locked her up in a cage? What the hell were they thinking? If people knew for sure that there were aliens maybe they'd stop fighting amongst themselves for a bit and stop to really think about themselves.

"Perhaps they thought people would panic if they knew," Yoshimo reasoned.

"Maybe people would," Imoen answered, "If the aliens were scaly green octopuses who turned up in flying saucers above the White House. But Aerie just seems like an ordinary sweet girl. A little on the thin side, but really not someone people would be afraid of."

"I doubt many people would believe she was an alien. They'd claim she was hoax, at most the product of some clever genetic engineering."

"The covers perfect, isn't it?"

"I'm not yet convinced it is a cover."

Aerie led them through more corridors that looked much the same as all the others. A person could go mad forced to stay in a place like this. But Aerie seemed nice enough. Odd perhaps, but nice. Eventually she led them into a room lit by a few battery powered lamps. There they found a woman with reddish-brown hair wearing a business outfit with short skirt, too short really, but it seemed to have worn better than Aerie's dress. The woman was crouched in a corner weeping to her self, glancing up briefly when the blonde entered the room.

"You were supposed to bring food," she cried, "I'm so hungry…"

"I'm sincerely sorry ma'am," Aerie explained. "I… I met some people…"

"Who…" the woman jumped up when she saw the newcomers and tried to compose herself, straightening her skirt and jacket and making a useless effort to get her hair close to presentable. "Did the company send you? I'm a member of the board. You have to get me out of this place!"

"Miss Hannah, I presume," Yoshimo bowed again like he was meeting royalty.

"Hannah Morgan, yes," she suddenly started eyeing them both suspiciously.

"Aerie tells us she's an alien," Imoen said in conversational tone. Hannah shot the blonde a sharp look.

"I-I thought it was best to tell the truth, ma'am," Aerie tried to avoid the woman's gaze.

"The company didn't send you, did it?" Hannah sighed. "Very well. The army found her and her ship in Arizona about thirty six years ago. The ship was damaged beyond repair."

"How?" Imoen asked Aerie. "Did you crash?"

'Er… no," the blonde alien flushed. "I-it's embarrassing, really. It seems I landed in the middle of some maneuvers."

"The government locked her up right away," Hannah went on. "She couldn't speak a word of English at first, but when she could talk she said she'd been responding to some sort of distress call."

"It's true. I received a galactic distress signal coming from this planet, but… I couldn't pin point the source."

"They questioned her for a while then locked her in a cell in one of their secret research facilities and forgot all about her for the next twenty years. Then we… acquired her and the probe."

"You mean you kidnapped her," Imoen corrected. "And Project ELF is a branch of the government?"

"Of course… I suppose they sent you. Look, I don't care what you do with her," Hannah gestured towards Aerie. "I just want to get off this island and see my son. I can pay you anything you want."

Imoen frowned on the woman who was so quick to completely abandon the person who had obviously been keeping her alive all this time. She turned to Aerie, finding the aliens selfless nature far more worthy of her respect than Miss Miniskirt.

"So, what's all this Engineered Life Form stuff?" The red head asked.

"Like I told you, my race was created by the Seldarine… th-they had mastered synthetic biology and engineered life forms across the galaxy," Aerie explained. "But it was we, the Avariel, who were entrusted with all their knowledge… it was all flashed into my brain while I grew in my pod. I… I told the scientists here about how we're made, about how the Mother computers write our DNA, and… the creature that attacked you was the result."

"I still don't really get why you were protecting one of them."

"Y-you have to understand… what they did wasn't really their fault. They were just so angry at the way they'd been treated. I tried to explain, but the scientists started experimenting before they had truly understood. Those poor creatures… their bodies are so twisted that every second of life is agony to them. And it's my fault… I should never have told them anything."

"Admittedly we may have acted too hastily in the creation of those monstrosities," Hannah said.

"At least, when Quayle came, the focus was shifted to medical research," the blonde brightened up a bit. "Some good has come of my time here. I've helped to cure many diseases that thousands of humans used to die of. Have you heard of Drakes disease? We made the cure here three years ago."

"I've heard of it," Imoen's eyes started boring into Hannah. The woman started flinching. "I've never heard of any cure though."

"I-I don't understand," Aerie looked between the two women, positively bewildered.

"I know you don't," Imoen placed a consoling hand on her shoulder. "I suppose our behavior must seem alien to you. So why don't we let Miss Hannah explain it?"

"We just… more tests needed to be done," Hannah insisted while Imoen started bearing down on her.

"Bull!" The red head snapped. Hannah backed away, only to bump into Yoshimo. "You just weren't interested in selling a cure, not while you're making so much money selling people medicines that only make the sickness last longer."

"B-but, why make a cure at all if they don't intend to use it?" Aerie asked.

"So that they can patent it and make sure no-one else has it," Imoen answered, while the blonde's heart sank all the way to her knees.

"I still don't… I still don't understand. D-did Quayle know about this?"

"He's barely aware of what goes on in the same room as him, so no," Hannah said, "Look, I wanted to release the cure, I did! But the other members of the board voted against it. They're to blame!"

"You're making me very angry," Imoen said and it was true. She'd never felt this angry before. You know the phrase 'seeing red'… see literally was. Selfishness… greed… the human race at its worst … she thought about shooting the woman through, even though she knew she would never do it. But some voice, from somewhere, gave her a much better idea. "Do you keep samples of the diseases here in your lab?"

"What? Why?!"

"I'm thinking maybe it would help you if you had a deadline…"

"You wouldn't…" She looked like she was going to run but Yoshimo grabbed her arms and held her fast, displaying a surprising amount of physical strength for his size.

"Wouldn't I? I don't know… I know I want to be a good person, but earlier I tried to kill a living thing even though it was running away from me. I'm not a hundred per cent sure what I can or will do."

"How dare you assume the moral high ground!" Hannah stood up to the red head defiantly. The knowledge there was no way out – Aerie had slumped against the wall again staring into space, trying in vain to make sense of things – had apparently made her brave. "How much are they paying you, hmm? How much is the alien worth? That's the only reason you came here isn't it?"

"That's… just… well," Imoen stammered out. The woman certainly raised a good point. Altruism certainly hadn't been her motive. "Just shut up!" She said and punched Hannah in the jaw. The woman's eyes rolled back and she slumped unconscious to the floor.

Both she and Yoshimo spent a moment staring at her fist. She'd never knocked anyone out before, not like that. It was as if something else guided her hand so that it struck the right spot…

"I… I don't know what came over me," the red head shrugged sheepishly.


	7. Chapter 7 Carnival, Part Four

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #007  
Carnival, Part Four **

They ended up dragging Hannah into another room and locking the door. Yoshimo seemed disappointed that he didn't get to tie her up, but Imoen had already creeped herself out too much and decided it was fair to give her a chance to get away should those creatures break in. Besides, Aerie, who had just discovered that all of her time spent trapped in this facility had been meaningless, recovered from her shock and asked that they not harm the woman, as she had been told to keep her safe. Imoen got the feeling that the blonde definitely would try to stop them if she attempted to carry out her threat. The alien had so far proven completely dedicated to someone called Quayle whilst regarding her own life as pretty worthless – something Imoen would liked to have corrected her on, but it would have to wait.

"_Take my hand _…" that sounded like Minsc, singing, or something close to that anyway. " _I'm a stranger in paradise_ …" the sound reverberated through the sterile grey walls of the facility and through the very bones of those hearing it. By the looks of them, Aerie's ears were probably more sensitive than everybody else's. It was a good job this wasn't her first contact with humans, or she might have assumed this was some sort of sonic attack.

"It's just Minsc," Imoen explained through her gritted teeth. She'd always known the cyborg was a little… unusual, but she'd never known him to be quite this stupid. And then she remembered – when they'd adventured together before Dynaheir had almost always been at his side. She was probably the only being able to control him.

" _If I stand starry-eyed… That's a danger in paradise… For mortals who stand beside an angel like… _" finally he halted by the door and Imoen was relieved to see he at least remembered to bring weapons. He had two large sacks over each arm, each one containing a range of rifles, machine guns, grenade and rocket launchers…

"Impressive," Yoshimo said, "looks like he's brought Great Britain's entire military arsenal."

"Pfff… I hope he's brought more than that," said Imoen, "we're going to need more than two kid's catapults and a 'super-soaker'."

And after another important contribution to international relations, Imoen remembered she was still very angry with the Russian. The huge man wasn't paying her attention though. He'd scanned the room quickly with his cybernetic eye which then came to rest on Aerie. The blonde returned his starry-eyed stare with a look of extreme curiosity… but in fact, most of that was directed towards the hamster sat up on Minsc's shoulder.

"Hey!" Imoen flapped her arms and jumped to get the cyborg's attention. "Singing?! Why don't we just phone ahead, let the bad guys know where we're staying and what time we'll be over to visit!" Minsc slowly turned his neck, a red beam from his cyber eye apparently targeting her forehead. Imoen gulped and stepped away, thinking maybe she'd gone too far. "Or… you know, you can sing if you want to," she said in a nervous hurry, "but, um… could you do it quietly? Please?"

"It's okay," Aerie stepped forward, concerned by the sudden change in atmosphere, "The… the labs are all sound-proofed. I doubt Kalah will have heard anything."

"What about the other creatures?" Yoshimo reminded her.

"Minsc has encountered no signs of life," the big man informed them.

"I-I don't why they're being so quiet," Aerie said, "It is very odd… but they are the least of our worries. Um… w-what is that?"

"What is what?"

"L-like a rat, b-but smaller and has no tail…"

"Boo is no rat!" Minsc spoke up on his furry friends behalf, rather offended. "Boo is… is Boo!"

"Oh… o-of course," Aerie said as if that had explained everything, "I'm sorry. I meant no offense… to either of you. My name is Aerie."

The Russian silently whispered to Boo, who responded with a few twitches of his whiskers. It seemed they were conferring, and then Minsc turned to address the alien, "Boo accepts your apology."

"Thank you," Aerie had a trace of a smile on a face that seemed far more accustomed to frowning.

"You've never seen a hamster before?" Imoen grinned. Her face had been used to smiling but hadn't really for some time. It had to be great, didn't it? To be able to see everything in the world as new and interesting, perhaps even still have hope that there are some things in it which are truly good and wonderful.

"I'm afraid I have seen very little of the indigenous life on your world… b-but now you must see what Kalah has done for yourselves. It may convince you to leave this place," Aerie said hopefully then turned to the bronze bird she called 'Ammale' and uttered to it some instructions in what presumably was an alien language.

It responded by opening its beak and a hollow tube slid out. Yoshimo and Minsc started reaching for weapons but Imoen held them back. Apart from trying to stop Imoen from taking a life, Aerie had expressed no desire to harm anyone so far. Quite the opposite in fact.

Again, the red heads instincts paid off. The tube projected a beam of light and the room filled with stars.

"N'uma!" Aerie tapped Ammale with a screwdriver. "You are playing the wrong file."

"Nice," Imoen passed her hand through a holographic image of Earth that appeared in front of her, "These your home movies?"

"H-home…" The blonde tilted her head to ponder the phrase. "I suppose… w-when Ammale encounters potentially intelligent life forms he was programmed to show them this to explain where we came from."

"So I was right, again. I said it was a probe. And you've been completely wrong about everything," she stuck her tongue out at Yoshimo, who remained impassive, as ever.

"You are indeed wise, ma'am," Aerie was poking inside Ammale with her screwdriver and tiny tweezers.

"Yeah, I know. It gets embarrassing sometimes," Imoen said very humbly, "But, less of the 'ma'am' please… wow…"

The 'camera' started zooming out, right out. Away from Earth, past Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the funny one… all the way out of the solar system. It panned around the stars and centered on one, then started to zoom in on that. Imoen expected it to go into another star system, but as the speck became she saw it was a ship with a silvery hull and shaped like a sword. She had no point of reference, but it had to be huge. As it rotated to show the top side she saw many ivory towers rising from the floor and between were lakes and crystalline forests, all covered by a shimmering blue dome.

"You didn't come from another planet," Imoen deducted, "this is your home?"

"Y-yes," the blonde continued her work with Ammale, not turning to look at the image. No… not wanting to. "It is… it is Faenya-Dail, city ship of the Avariel," a single tear escaped Aerie's eye as she spoke. Imoen stepped around the hologram, placing a hand gently on her shoulder.

"You can't go back there, can you?" The red head said. And as she did so she noticed that, for the first time, Yoshimo gave something away. Her interaction with Aerie clearly disturbed him, even if it only showed for an instant. Perhaps he was still hoping to be paid for handing her over to people they now knew would treat her no better than those here. That, however, would be harder to do if they started to realize the 'thing' they were trading was actually a person with feelings, emotions, dreams like your own.

"No… i-it's impossible now," Aerie pressed some things inside Ammale and the image started to change. "But this is what you should look at now."

The hologram was now of the sterile corridors inside the facility. A group of guards had positioned themselves behind a barricade while men and women in lab coats ran by them wearing expressions of horror and desperation. Then another man in a lab coat, at least the remains of one, appeared. He had orange skin and had to be about eight feet tall. He cut down the ones fleeing with tongues of flame that leapt from his fingertips reducing everything to ashes on contact. The guard's guns had no effect and they too were unable to avoid the same fate. They were shown other images, but they all showed much the same thing happening. When it was over, Imoen shook her head.

"Just once I'd like to meet a super villain who isn't immune to bullets," she quipped. Unfortunately doing so didn't raise her confidence any. "Please tell me that these seraphine…"

"Seldarine," Aerie immediately corrected.

"Whatever… tell me they gave you knowledge of how to stop him."

"They did…"

"Well, that's good."

"Un-unfortunately, the technology necessary is not here."

"Not so good."

"But… I-I think I can weaken him… perhaps enough so that your weapons can penetrate his shield."

"Getting better."

"Please explain," Yoshimo said to Aerie, "I believe we should know exactly what this Kalah is."

"I… t-there is a realm, another plane or dimension if you prefer. Here there are no stars or planets or the space in-between… it is like an infinite ocean of pure energy we call the witch space. A-at least that's a fairly close translation of what we call it."

"Sure you didn't just make it up to sound cool?" Imoen winked knowingly.

"Cool?" Aerie made her question face. "I'm afraid I don't understand that word in this context…"

"Continue," Yoshimo was getting impatient.

"Yes… we, draw on this energy to power much of our technology. But we can also channel it through our own bodies, using our thoughts to give it shape and form in this reality. To do this, we need to be in contact with a certain crystal."

"That's what Kalah had on his head?" Imoen piped in, remembering the blue spot she'd seen in the hologram.

"You're correct yet again… m-ma'am."

"But I take it you guys don't go all… orange, right?" Imoen realized she would have to let 'ma'am' go for now.

"No… you see, the witch space is also inhabited by a variety of creatures. When a mind enters it trying to use its power… these s-spirits, raukos, seek it out and try to enter them. The Seldarine created us all with a certain gene that makes our minds invisible to them, so we can use the power safely."

"But Kalah didn't."

"I cannot stop it… and I fear it is too late to do anything to save Kalah now. In…in time, the rauko will possess his body completely. Once it does, my peoples experience suggests that it will leave this place and begin to feed."

"Feed?"

"It will… c-consume the minds of any living creature it comes across, becoming more and more powerful. I wish there was another way, but… I… b-believe that, Kalah, needs to be killed… in order to protect the lives of all the other inhabitants of your world. D-do you still want to help, now that you know the danger?"

"Stop bad guy… save the world," Imoen yawned theatrically, "it beats flipping burgers, I guess. Besides, be honest Aerie, what are chances of you succeeding if you take Kalah on by yourself?"

"Very slim," Aerie admitted, "But, I-I must warn you… even with all your help I doubt the odds will be significantly improved."

"With Minsc's strength and Boo's hamster cunning, it is impossible for us to fail!" The big Russian roared, excited that today's deeds would be more heroic than he had anticipated. No-one else quite felt his confidence, but Aerie was already committed to her cause and Imoen knew she couldn't just leave. Or could she? Well, part of her maybe could but the part currently in control said she couldn't leave anyone in trouble.

"There would be little point in being paid if there is no world left to enjoy it in," Yoshimo made another excellent point. Imoen knew from experience that the world was facing apocalypses all the time. It would be a major downside to her day if one happened that she had a chance to stop. Somewhere along the way however, it seemed a vote had been taken while she was absent and she'd been put in charge of this expedition. Everyone waited for her to give the final word.

"Well, no point standing here like soufflés, is there?" The red head said. "Lock and load peeps."

--

Imoen, now brandishing an assault rifle, checked out the stairwell. There were about three levels below her and nine up. There was absolutely zero light reaching them in here, so it was back to night vision glasses. Except for Minsc, who had that sort of thing built in. And Aerie… well, she wasn't exactly sure how Aerie was able to see. Through the glasses the alien's eyes looked like they were emitting a kind of light. It was kind of spooky. Yoshimo had also taken a rifle, while Minsc held up a mini-gun with about as much effort as it took ordinary men to lift a feather.

"Looks clear," the red head informed everyone.

"We must ascend seven levels to reach Kalah," Aerie said and started heading up. She seemed to have no fear of those engineered creatures. She'd explained that after the first day this all started, they spent most of their time hunting the rats that escaped and seemed uninterested in her or Hannah. She reasoned Imoen must have startled the one she saw, although Imoen insisted that it was the other way round. Still, Aerie conceded that it was odd they hadn't seen any more of them.

"Isn't that thing heavy?" Imoen asked her as they went up. She referred to the device Aerie held in front of her.

The alien had spent her time since this all started hunting down bits of computer and other components and building them up into a roughly cylindrical device almost as big as her own torso. She held it up via two handlebars she had attached to each side. This, she had told them, would transmit a kind of signal that would interfere with Kalah's link to witch space. It wouldn't turn off his powers completely but he would be able to channel far less energy than he could before. It was the best she could do with what was available.

"Allow Minsc to take your burden," the big man offered, but Aerie turned away.

"No… I can… I-I will manage, thank you," the blonde said determinedly, but she was starting to pant already. It was obvious the thing was too heavy for her, but she struggled up about two levels with it before finally she couldn't manage anymore and had to sit. Imoen immediately called for the others to halt.

"Listen Aerie," the red head crouched next to the alien, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Now, you may be smarter than any human alive today, but you're really like a kid in other ways, aren't you?" She noticed the smirk from Yoshimo, letting her know how rich he thought that was. Imoen stuck her tongue out at him. Aerie sagged a bit.

"I don't… I mean, I-I just wanted…" Aerie couldn't finish her thought. Despite all her knowledge, it was obvious she had trouble expressing herself and had to think carefully about every word. Perhaps it would be easier for her if they all could speak alien, but Imoen spoke no other language but English. Unless jazz was a language, but the only saxophone she'd ever had ended up as a brass paperweight. Minsc claimed it was an accident.

"I don't mean it in a bad way," Imoen handed Aerie a flask, not bothering to think if aliens even drank water. Could be water was deadly to them, but she suspected that only ever happened in bad sci-fi films. Since the Seldarine based their creations on humans, probably most of their bodily functions were the same. It turned out, Aerie was thirsty. Imoen couldn't recall a day when she'd been right so often. Just a shame the world was going to end.

"Really," she carried on, "if I ever had kids I wish they would be like you. Good, smart, polite and well behaved… But I'll probably have kids who are selfish, snotty nosed little brats, which will be my own fault, really. I'll spoil them because I never had a chance to be with my real parents. I'd end up having to love them because they're mine, but I could never like them really. I like you though. Do you think I'm rambling a bit?" Aerie nodded, her jaw hanging open. "Yeah… I'll get back to the point then. I know you think that all the nasty stuff that's happened here is your own fault somehow, and so you have to be the one to fix it. But you're not going to be able to help anybody if you're all pooped out before we even get up there. So, why don't you just let Minsc carry the box? There'll be other ways you can help."

Aerie stared at her strangely for a moment, and then tentatively took Imoen's hand, allowing the red head to pull her to her feet. "All… alright," she agreed.

They made much faster progress then, and it wasn't long at all before they were all standing outside the door Kalah's laboratory. In the circumstances, perhaps some ominous gothic looking archway would have been more appropriate. But it was just another rather nondescript door. Well, it was metal and looked pretty solid, but not really out of the ordinary. It did present a huge problem though, since it was the only way in or out of the room. Aerie's device weakened Kalah, but he might still have enough power to cut them all down as they tried to funnel through the entrance.

"I will go in first," Aerie said.

"You really should stop treating suicide like it's a hobby," Imoen said, prompting yet another strange look from the alien.

"Kalah… doesn't know you're here. And, I don't think he will kill me. Not… right away, anyway. He killed everyone else here, but left me and Quayle alive."

"Why?"

"I… I don't know. But I think this is our only chance… I-I'll make sure he faces away from the door so that you can come in after me."

"Alright," Imoen didn't like it, but had to agree with Aerie's assessment. "But you just distract him, got it? Don't take any risks. When we start shooting, then see if you can free your friend."

"You should activate the device as soon as I go in," Aerie was about to go, but Imoen grabbed her.

"Wait… you haven't told us how to work it."

"Um… t-there are two buttons, which I have taken the liberty of labeling."

Imoen looked at the cylinder, which Minsc easily held aloft in one hand. On the top were the two buttons, with the words 'OFF' and 'ON' written on them. What a way to make the earthlings feel even more stupid.

"Okay, thanks. We'll figure it out," Imoen smiled. "Be careful kid."

Aerie nodded and made her way across the hall to the door. As she did, Imoen examined the controls and experimentally pressed the button marked 'ON', getting a satisfied hum from the device in response. Yoshimo had already removed one of the nearby wall panels uncovering pipes and wiring and they placed the device amongst it, sealing it back up.

Imoen then followed Aerie, lying on the floor next to the door just as the blonde opened it. She took a periscope from amongst her gear and peered into the lab.

"I knew you would come to me, eventually… Servant of the Seldarine," that had to be this Kalah they'd heard so much about. His voice was deep, booming, about what you'd expect except for a slight wheezing. The orange giant stood in the center of the room, having to bend his neck for his head touched the ceiling. Quayle, to Aerie's right, had been driven up the wall by him, literally. A small spark seemed to be holding him in place.

"A-aerie?" The old researcher said, as if he didn't quite believe it. "I told you to get away…"

"Shut up old man!" Kalah waved, and then examined Aerie with a lurid smile on his face. "You belong to me now."

"Kalah," Aerie immediately began stepping to he left, slowly circling the monster. "Whatever the rauko has told you is a lie… it… it will kill you, and then everyone else it can find."

"It will…" Kalah's face showed signs of struggle. For a moment, it seemed like he might listen, but then he started to laugh. "No… desperate words… from a weak creature who fears my power. But you belong to me. You will live… to serve me."

"I will not serve the creature inside you."

"You will," Kalah waved a hand again, this time Quayle's body started to convulse as waves of energy passed through him. "You will… or I will kill the old man."

"Alright! Stop it, please!" Aerie begged, and Kalah acquiesced. "I-I don't understand… why do you want… me?"

"He… mocked me, this little man. Said I was no good… but… I can be as… good… as him."

"You… y-you want me because Quayle had me? Despite all this power you have, you're still… jealous?" Aerie had almost reached the opposite side of the room by this point. Imoen and Yoshimo silently shot through the doorway, taking cover behind some overturned desks.

"I… had to succeed. Father… demanded it," was the monster crying? His voice sounded like he was in pain somehow. "But, I could not. They… they all laughed. Called me… incompetent. But I proved them wrong," Kalah pointed to the tiny crystal fused to his head. "I made it work… for me."

"You did," Aerie nodded sadly, "But, y-you killed them. You will not change their hearts now. You… have proven yourself to no-one."

"NO!" Kalah let out an agonized roar, forcing the blonde backwards.

"Y-you are trying to fight it, aren't you?" Aerie tentatively reached out.

"It… it is too strong. It… wants me to kill… destroy…" Kalah roared again, his huge hands rising up to clutch at his temples. The spark holding Quayle vanished allowing the old man to slip to the floor.

"I truly am sorry," Aerie's eyes flooded with tears, "I-I wish… there was a way to help you. Were it possible to contact my people…"

" _What have you done? _" Kalah screamed. Imoen took it that the device was working, so she and Yoshimo sat up and took aim, not that it was possible to miss him.

"There's no other way," the small blonde wept, "I'm… I'm sorry."

She ran to her left towards Quayle, and the guns began to rattle and splutter out their bullets. Kalah screamed and stumbled forwards, but refused to fall to the floor. The bullets were reaching him, but didn't seem to be penetrating very far beneath his skin, and where they did leave a mark the wound immediately began to close itself.

Aerie helped the bewildered Quayle up, and supported him around the room and out through the door. Kalah managed to turn himself around and roared. With a slap to his chest he began to advance on the two shooting at him, but then saw something which gave him cause to pause.

Minsc appeared in the doorway, his weapon began to spin and whir. Kalah shook violently with the impacts and the cyborg continued to advance, allowing Imoen and Yoshimo to escape behind him and not following them until the monster finally fell on his back shaking the entire room.

Yoshimo, clearly realizing there was no such thing as overkill in this case, pulled the pin from a grenade and chucked back inside.

"Down!" Imoen pulled Aerie and Quayle to the floor. The explosion sent a tremor through the entire facility and blew a lot of heat, dust and debris into the corridor. When it had cleared she cautiously peered back into the lab.

"Holy…" through the smoke she could make out Kalah. Bleeding and badly charred along with everything else inside. But he was still breathing. His hand twitched suddenly, then flattened itself on the ground and he began turning himself over and to rise to his feet. "That's it… run!"

Everyone agreed that was a very good idea. They'd made it back to the stairwell when they had a high pitched wailing. It didn't take long for Imoen to find the source. Far down the corridor, somehow clinging to the ceiling, was one of the Engineered Life Forms.

"Startled it, did we?" Imoen gave a slight sneer. The creature was soon joined by its buddies, until there was a group of nine of them at each end of the corridor.

"Th-they have simple minds," Aerie said, "Kalah… must have learnt how to influence them."

"Yeah, well, why the hell have we stopped running? Move!" And everyone agreed that was a very good idea.


	8. Chapter 8 Carnival, Part Five

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #008  
Carnival, Part Five **

The group hurriedly wound their way back down the stairwell. Minsc poured bullet after bullet into the creatures as they tried to rush through the doorway at the top, but they didn't run away like before. The frenzied animals immediately got back up and continued to charge after them, some of them leaping and crawling down the walls.

One of the creatures fell and landed on its feet in front of Aerie. The blonde reacted instinctively, pushing Quayle away and standing between him and the beast. It was at this point, as the creature lifted its huge arm in order to break her in two, she regretted not asking the others for a weapon. Still she stood her ground, until the one called Yoshimo spotted her predicament and shot the creature between the eyes.

The group soon realized that their plan, which had been simply to run for it, wasn't working too well since creatures were a lot faster. Instead, the three who were armed stood around the other two picking the beasts off as they came near. Fortunately the creatures were just acting like animals, having no real plan of attack.

Eighteen had been chasing them. Aerie had explained that twenty three of the creatures had escaped originally and four she knew had been killed by the bases security staff before Kalah could get to them. That just left one unaccounted for, most likely the one Imoen had scared off earlier.

"Okay," Imoen panted after they were all satisfied the last man-beast had fallen. "Plan-A didn't… go…. exactly right. Anyone got a…. plan-B? God, I'm out of shape…"

"Gas," Yoshimo, who seemed to be having no trouble breathing, suggested. "He breathes as we do, so why not try gas?"

"Tried that already," the old man, Quayle, spoke up, and seemed to be searching for something in his pockets. "Kalah seems to have mutated so that his lungs filter out any toxins."

"You're okay!" Aerie cried and wrapped him up with a big hug.

"For the time being my dear… thanks to you and these people. Can't seem to find my glasses though."

"Er, Quayle," the blonde grinned and wiped away the last remnants of her tears, "have you tried your face?"

"Really? Why can't I see anything?"

"Because the lights are out, silly."

"Anyway," Imoen shook her head. She had come here to be the villain in this piece and split the two of them up. Now though, she had no idea what she was going to do. It was a mess, she should never have rushed off without thinking in the first place but there had been no-one to stop her. "It was a good idea, shame it didn't pan out," she assured Yoshimo and patted him on the shoulder. "You're thinking though. That's good. You know, they say the mind is the greatest weapon of all."

"I think what we need is a bath and fresh clothes," Quayle drew everyone's stares, "Been wearing these all week… starting to pong a bit."

"I… don't think that should be very high on your list of concerns right now…"

"Why not? If we do get killed, the last thing we want is the doctors looking at our corpses and thinking 'this person never washed themselves'. That's not how you'd like to be remembered… always wear clean underwear, that's what my mother always said."

"Yeah, well… good thing, actually… I went before I left," the red head rolled her entire head back. That was it… if she came out of this, she was never helping old people again. Let'em cross the street by themselves…

It was a good job Imoen looked up, or they might not have seen him coming. The group scattered in all directions as Kalah crashed down in the middle of them, leaving a huge crater in the steel floor. It took no time at all for him to rise to his feet, and then the monsters yellow eyes locked onto the redhead.

"I, uh, guess you're pretty pissed, huh?" Imoen put on her most sheepish smile. "Before you do anything though, you should know it was actually Aerie who put us up to it," her smile faded into guilt. She just wasn't very brave at all.

" _SILENCE, COWARD! _" The monster boomed. Kalah's voice had changed; it was less tortured now than it had been. His huge head leant her towards and he bared his, very big, teeth.

"N-not another word… promise. Cross my heart and hope to…"

" _WHAT ARE YOU? _"

"Uh, a coward? Was… was I allowed to speak there? It's just you asked a question and I wasn't sure…"

" _YOU ARE MORE… LITTLE MORE THAN A SPARK NOW, BUT STILL IT BURNS _."

"Okay… You lost me. I haven't a clue what you're talking about."

" _I WILL CONSUME YOU BEFORE IT DOES _."

"Well… that's not a good idea. I mean, look how skinny I am. Minsc though… lots of good meat on him," she pointed and like a big dummy the monster turned to look and that when she lifted her firearm and pulled the trigger, just missing Kalah's right eye. Everyone started to fire, and the monster reacted like he was being attacked by a swarm of butterflies.

"Don't waste your time!" Imoen shouted, "Just scatter and try and get to the boat!"

Kalah started swinging wildly in all directions as the group broke off and ran. After a moments panic and confusion Imoen found herself running along the same corridor as Aerie, who kept glancing back.

"It's alright," the red head promised, "I'm pretty sure I saw Minsc grab Quayle and run off the other direction. Besides, your monster suddenly seems most interested in me for some reason." Indeed, they could feel Kalah's heavy bounds pursuing them. Although they were both tired, that gave them all the motivation they needed to keep running for some time. At every chance she got, Imoen led them along the corridors that sloped downwards, hoping to reach Dynaheir and the vehicle's super heavy weapons.

Eventually when Kalah's thumping receded and it seemed they'd lost him, the two mutually agreed on a time out.

"Y'know, we… we're not running away," Imoen panted, "A wise man once said that if at first you don't succeed you should try and try again. It was a Scot… Billy Connolly I think… Sean's brother. So anyway, we've just… to regroup, and then try something else."

"L-like… like the itsy-bitsy spider?" Aerie said.

"You've heard the story then?"

"Yes… Itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the water spout."

"Okay," Imoen had to laugh a little, "not the story I was thinking of, but… you're right. Itsy-bitsy spider never gave up. Not even when the rain came down and washed the spider out. He didn't just decide it was too much trouble. He didn't take the easy way out. No, the instant the sun came up and dried away the rain, Itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again. He had determination, courage… that damn spider was a true hero. Better than Superman. I mean, c'mon, it's easy to be brave when you're indestructible and have super-strength. But when you're a teeny little spider…"

"It is a very inspiring tale," Aerie agreed. Imoen shook her head and grinned, realizing the blonde alien girl was completely serious.

"Course, some might say that Itsy-bitsy was a fool who should have learnt his lesson the first time." It was obvious from Aerie's face that she didn't like that interpretation nearly as much. "You're right… your version does sound a lot better," it was becoming very hard to resist hugging Aerie. But Imoen hadn't really hugged anyone since her sister died. "I see Itsy-bitsy means a lot to you. How'd you know about him anyway?"

"I… wanted to learn more about children," Aerie shrugged, "Avariel don't have any. We're all hatched fully grown and with all our knowledge already implanted in our brains. Although… w-we still have to learn how to about all the norms… f-folkways, mores and laws that make up any society. I wanted to know how human children develop, so Quayle brought me a book of Nursery Rhymes."

"Good thinking," Imoen said. She wasn't sure what norms or folkways actually meant but she knew she would look like an idiot unless she avoided the issue entirely, and Aerie had already said she was wise. "You sound like you read more than just kiddy stuff though."

"I… I'm allowed to read all kinds of things on the computer, sometimes. Miss Hannah doesn't like it, though. She thinks it's dangerous for me to know too much about outside."

"I'm sorry. I promise, not everyone on Earth is a bitch."

"Miss Hannah is only doing her job… a-as for the rest, I'll never know. I'm afraid I don't know anything about you, ma'am, other than it is your intention to deliver from this prison in order to deliver me to one where I will likely have far less freedom."

"Guess it's not a great basis for forming a friendship."

"It's… i-it's not your fault. I don't blame you. I'm… sure you have your duties as well."

Imoen threw her head back and sighed. She was pretty clear who Aerie blamed for every piece of crap thing that had happened to her on this planet. She'd seen lots of people blame themselves for stuff they had absolutely no control over just because, well, the alternative was thinking that you had absolutely no control over anything which actually wasn't very comforting. Maybe if someone just treated her like… well, like a human being for a change and not just a thing to be stored away, traded, and then cast aside when you've no use for it anymore…

"I was an orphan," she said, and Aerie looked up confusedly.

"E-excuse me?"

"You've told me all sorts of stuff about yourself, so I'll tell you about me. That's fair, right?"

"I-I suppose…"

"So shut up and listen. I was brought up in this orphanage run by nuns…"

"Nuns?"

"Nuns… They're just women who take vows and dress like penguins. But they help people a lot as well. I was terrible though… I was a real brat. Like one time, I couldn't see the TV because the twins were sat in front of me, so I tied their pigtails together while they were watching. I thought it was funny, when they tried to stand up and their heads banged together… but, it was wrong. And I saw that, the very next day when they forced me to say I was sorry then threw me in the pond. All the girls thought that was funny."

"All of them? I… I assumed a person like you w-would have had lots of friends."

"Why?"

"Because… you seem to find it so easy to talk to people."

"You were wrong. I was the most unpopular girl at that place. Y'see… I never meant any harm by it, but I would do silly things all the time and they always annoyed or upset someone. I'd have been lucky to have made it out alive, but there was just one girl who always stood up for me and took a hell of a lot of beatings on my behalf. And I'm not talking pillow fights; there were some really mean girls."

"Who was she?"

"Diana. She always looked after me. I… I don't really know why. Just the type of person she was, I guess. She hated to see anyone bullied and made to suffer for any reason. We were close… like sisters," the red head was actually talking about herself a little more than she'd intended to now. But, what the hell, by tomorrow poor Aerie was either going to be dead or on her way to be locked in a cell for another thirty or more years. Of course, Diana would never have allowed either of those things to happen. "I suck at this you know…"

"At what?"

"Life… everything. Because, Diana… she was my life. I always just followed her wherever she went and no matter how tough the going got. I used to feel like I was someone when I was with her… but, now she's gone, and I'm no-one. And I just don't know what to do."

Imoen tried not to cry. She shouldn't cry. Not in front of the alien. But it was obvious that she was going to, and then Aerie decided to put her arms around her.

"What are you doing?" The red head asked, admittedly not really that surprised.

"I-I'm sorry," the Avariel said, "I thought it was the custom when humans were happy… or sad, for-for them to hug. Does it not help?" The blonde stared at her hopefully.

"A little," everyone just needed a hug sometimes. She always used to hug Diana when she was sad, and nine out of ten times she had to say it did always make her feel better. "I didn't say you could stop, did I?"

"There's something I don't understand… why… why aren't you still you?"

"Huh?"

"You must have loved your sister very much. You were happy because… s-she made you see what was good about yourself. And now, I think, you're not happy because you're not being yourself any more. But you have to be… you can't be anyone else."

"You don't know me that well," Imoen pouted.

"No… b-but, I warned you of the danger here and you stayed…"

"Only because I could see you were going to be stubborn."

"Even so… the three of you could easily have overpowered me, but you chose to help instead. You're not a coward ma'am."

"I am stupid though. Diana always came up with the plans. All I can come up with is hitting Kalah with bigger and bigger guns."

"I fear Kalah is dead," Aerie finally grew tired of hugging and sat down next to the red-head, "only the Rauko inhabits that body now. W-we would have to cause massive damage to his entire body at once… if any part survives the creature can regenerate."

"Right," Imoen had thought about the Hell Pistol, but she doubted even that could cause the kind of damage they needed, even if she wasn't just terrified of touching the thing again. And Aerie, in her innocently wise way, was telling her to not try being Diana and to be herself. She wouldn't be telling her that if she knew who Imoen really was, because Imoen was useless and possibly schizo. Well, maybe that was overreacting to what had been a perfectly natural feeling. She certainly doubted she could have lived with herself if she'd actually done anything as evil as what she'd planned for Morgan. But she was still useless.

"Guns anyway," the red head shrugged, "I know sometimes I have to use them, but I've never been that good a shot. That was Diana too… she could shoot the fleas off a dogs back. She did all the fighting too. I'd get my ass kicked most of the time. Basically, I was only ever around for moral support… We need a hero like her. We'd have all been better off if I'd have… if I'd have drowned in that pond…"

"Ma'am?" Aerie looked up, puzzled to see Imoen suddenly not so somber and her eyes lighting up a bit.

"We're going about this all wrong… we're trying to destroy Kalah's body but it's the thing inside that's the real bugbear. Why's he not trying to do that fireball thing or to zap us anymore?"

"I… I believe my device has successfully isolated the creature from its home plane, so it can no longer draw on any energy from there."

"But he regenerates, right? That's got to need energy, so where's he getting it from?"

"Hmm… h-he's disabled most systems but the emergency generators are still running. But it's a different kind of energy. He can only absorb it."

"But it's energy, right? And the creature's made of energy… and this place is a power station… or it was. They were experimenting with some sort of geo-thermal power here?" Imoen detached a rectangular, thin item from her jacket and flicked it open to display a tiny screen. She still had her connection to the bases computer network. "According to this the generator is still down there. It's in working condition too, we've just gotta turn it on."

"B-but… it was unstable…"

"We'd only need it on for a few seconds… one minute, max."

"Why? What are you thinking?"

"The rocko or whatever it's called is made of energy, right? Well… humans are made of water, but we still drown in the stuff."

"I-isolated from its plane, there would no place for the excess energy to go," Aerie nodded, catching on, "i-if we could channel enough power into his body at once, the Rauko would be destroyed."

"So, it will work?"

"I… believe so."

"Ha!" the red-head grinned brightly, leapt to her feet and started jumping and wriggling, "I'm young, smart and sassy! Big evil will wish he'd stayed in his own dimension rather than come here and mess with a red head. I am so gonna fry him," Imoen stopped her wriggling when she caught Aerie's question face, causing her to blush. "Well… the victory dance may be kinda premature… but if this plan doesn't work then I'll never get to use it."

"I'm sure it will. You are very clever ma'am."

"Hey Aerie, we shared a hug. I think it's alright for you to call me by my actual… you know what my name is, right?"

"I'm sorry… I-Im-Imoen…"

"See!" Imoen skipped next to the blonde and slapped another hug around her, "wasn't so hard, was it? I promise you two things; one, we're gonna rid the world if it's extra-planar, energy sucking monster problem. And two… I will find a way to make you smile."

"I… I smile…"

"No you don't. Not really. Not like you mean it. But you will, because I've promised."

--

Kalah, or more specifically the Rauko that had possessed Kalah's body for Kalah truly was dead, stalked hunch backed through the narrow corridors. Thus far, the human animals had managed to elude him, but it was only a matter of time.

That he could no longer draw on strength from his home bothered him a little. But from he had seen and from searching Kalah's memories, the inhabitants of this world were stupid and uncivilized, their weapons were annoying but ultimately ineffective. And these creatures were weak… Kalah's mind had surrendered so easily. The presence of an Avariel, the first servants of the Seldarine, was bothersome and his current state had no doubt been her doing. Still, she was just one, young for her race and without any of her people's technology. He would break them all, then scour this place for the source of the field blocking him from witch-space, then evolve to the next stage and consume this world.

A tiny creature with a long tail scurried across his path. He scanned the remnants of Kalah's mind for the life forms name… rat. Rats will be consumed as well, along with Piggys, Kermits, Gonzos and all the other life Kalah had shown him.

"Heya!" A female human animal called to him. "Me, Imoen! Over here!" She was flapping her arms trying to get his attention.

Perhaps she wanted to die, because it would make her life easier… was that a joke? He'd known of other energy forms that had come to the material plane and… turned native. But not Rauko. They saw the life here as different… anything different can not exist. It would be consumed, its essence used to wage war on the Rauko's enemies in witch-space.

"Why are you standing there?" The female placed her hands on her hips and pouted. The Rauko could feel her strength. It was subdued, but still worth the lives of a hundred thousand other animals. He wouldn't break her like the others; he would wait and absorb her essence.

"Hey, ugly!" Now she was throwing objects at him. Small crunched up pieces of paper which bounced harmlessly off his orange skin. The Rauko just couldn't understand how she thought these weapons would be any more effective than the loud, annoying ones. Humans were clearly stupid.

"Yeah, you with the really bad fake tan! You're not afraid of little ol'me are ya?"

Kalah roared. Roaring, the Rauko had to confess, did feel… good. It made him feel even more powerful than he knew he already was. And breaking things. He found he enjoyed breaking things. Like a humans back.

"Crap…" fear showed on the human and she started to run as he launched himself and bounded after her. In this narrow space he couldn't really move very fast, but he knew she would tire. But then the human did another stupid thing, leading him into a large open room where he could leap upon her with ease.

"Hit it!" The human cried as she took cover behind a tank, her words confusing the energy creature.

This was the place Kalah referred to as the 'factory floor', where the Engineered Life Forms were grown, creature's that had smaller minds even than the humans, inconceivable as that seemed. Bio-tanks and consoles stood around, interconnected by heavy cables. The Rauko panned his surroundings, and then found who the human had been talking to.

The Seldarine's slave was stood on a platform above them, pulling some sort of switch. Every light in the base lit up, as massive amounts of energy started to surge into every system. Just how stupid were they? He was made of energy, and they were giving him more of what he needed to stay alive. What was the feeling he had now? It started in his chest and crawled up his throat… laughter? Yes, he was laughing at them... laughing so hard that he didn't spot the other human.

A large one… almost as big as he had made Kalah's body, shoulder charged into him. This one had amazing strength for his kind, for Kalah was lifted into the air and thrown across the room, towards where some of the heavy cables had been redirected so that the power passed across some sort of grate which Kalah landed on.

He couldn't move from it. The energy filled his body and held him fast. He smelt his own burnt flesh and hurried to repair the damage… but that only used up a fraction of the energy pouring into him. He couldn't discharge it anywhere… he couldn't transfer it into witch-space… it was too much… he… he was… being consumed…

And for the first time the creature knew fear, as he felt his consciousness slipping away and the lights faded.


	9. Chapter 9 Insurrection, Part One

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #009  
Insurrection, Part One **

TV! Imoen couldn't believe how much she'd missed TV… all her life it had been her one true constant companion. And people blamed it for so many terrible things, which was totally unfair. TV had never caused violence for example. The bloodiest wars happened before television, because in those days people had nothing to do in doors so they had to go out and make their own fun.

Anyway, she'd been able to tweak a few things inside Dynaheir in order to pick up and descramble the satellite signals, so now she could watch any station for free. She stretched herself out on the lower bunk and hopped through the channels. Music… infomercials… some psychic reducing a grieving widow to tears for the entertainment of viewers… a documentary about a guy who claimed he could read the minds of fish. The last one actually looked interesting, but she should see what else was on first. After all, she could be missing the one episode of Whacky Races where Dastardly actually finishes the race, rather than building up a huge lead but then throwing it away by stopping in order to lay elaborate traps which always backfired.

" _This summer on Sci-Fi , _" the announcer boomed, " _as part of our five year mission to find the lowest common denominator, we bring you… Extreme Psychic Reality Makeover…! _"

"Off!" Imoen threw the remote at the screen. Okay, so admittedly there were times when TV brought out violent tendencies in people. Unfortunately she failed to hit the off button and it continued blurting out commercials. So now if she wanted to silence it she would have to get up from her bunk and walk the view feet to the screen… and she was just starting to get comfortable. What a dilemma.

Science fiction. Imoen didn't really read a lot of books, not fiction anyway, but she certainly had watched a lot of sci-fi on TV. Not that she considered herself a trekkie or anything… or was it trekker? Was there a difference? There probably was, but really, she would prefer being disintegrated and having her atoms spread all across time and space than to become involved in a conversation with the type of person who actually knew that sort of stuff.

Now she was faced with the reality that extra-terrestrial life existed, since it was lying on the floor a few feet away stirring from her sleep. The red head wondered a little what Aerie would make of our shows… but then it occurred to her that our sci-fi is actually pretty damn arrogant.

A lot of sci-fi shows were basically about humans going off into space and showing the rest of the galaxy how things should be done. Teaching them that human gut instinct and prejudice was far superior to any alien concept of logic. That, and it was about human males with large guts and receding hairlines getting together with exotic alien females who were all ' tell me more about this feeling you call love…' smoochysmoochsmooch … ugh. 

But now we knew there really were other civilizations out there that will find us sooner or later, and the reality was that the future most probably wouldn't involve us leading any grand federation, but us doing a lot of boot licking if we wanted to survive. Assuming all the aliens had boots, or even feet… we'd have to revise all our terminology as well.

What was really terrible about this whole situation was the way Aerie just seemed so accepting of her fate. Like a small bird that lands to help a limping spider, which immediately turns on the bird injecting it with its venom, yet even while its being eaten the little bird remains stoically philosophical about the whole incident.

Anyway… They'd left Quayle and Miss Morgan back on the island, having all agreed that no-one else had ever been there and that Aerie had been killed by Kalah. Convincing Morgan not to spill everything to the first rescue team that arrived was trying to say the least. But, Quayle was sharper than he seemed and had spent a long time collecting evidence against his employers… enough that the De'Arnises would have to sell off all their assets just to pay for the legal fees, and was happy to provide Imoen with a copy. So finally Hannah was convinced that silence was in the best interests of her company.

As for the old man… he had been reluctant to let Aerie go with them but he was powerless to do anything about. They were the ones with all the guns, and the Avariel made clear that she had no intention of going back on her word, most likely to protect him since it seemed she placed almost no value on her own life.

Yoshimo promised that no harm would come to the girl… Imoen knew that promise was going to be a damn hard one to keep, but nevertheless after some tearful farewells they were on their merry way.

There were only two bunks on board Dynaheir. Fortunately, Minsc didn't need to sleep and Aerie was happy to lie on the floor… well, not exactly happy, more that she was used to it. Evidently the TV had woken her.

"Good Morning," Imoen beamed, "well, evening, actually… you've been asleep all day. Not that it makes any difference in here I suppose."

"N-no," Aerie rubbed those big cartoon eyes of hers, "But… g-good evening," the blonde reciprocated, and there then followed a moment of silence since the alien clearly wasn't used to small talk and asking about the weather and stuff like that. It was pretty clear that if you wanted a conversation with Aerie it had to actually be about something. In that moment when she wasn't talking or watching TV for a change, an idea managed to claw its way into Imoen's mind. 

"These… Seldarine? They made you all to be good servants right?"

"We… were created to serve and protect a-all the peoples of this galaxy from creatures such as the Rauko…" Aerie stated, but with the tiny added scent of regret. However, that wasn't what Imoen was interested in right now. It was the 'serving' part.

"Cool… so, could you fetch me that remote control?" 

"As you wish," the alien crawled across the floor to retrieve then return the object to the red head, who having never left the mattress switched the TV off and grinned triumphantly.

"So let me get this straight," the red head had already begun pondering the many possibilities, "you'll do anything anyone tells you to do?"

"I… although my DNA was written by a machine, I-I am not one. But, fulfilling my purpose allows me to feel… w-well, fulfilled," Aerie shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"So, any time you do something for someone it makes you happy?" 

"Y-yes," the alien answered. This time though, if you paid attention to what her body language was saying than it was 'well, it's supposed to, but for some reason it isn't quite working…' Of course, it was alien body language so Imoen could have misread it entirely, but she'd decided it was pointless to keep second-guessing like that.

"Get me a soda," The red head instructed and Aerie immediately started to obey. Having the blonde around could certainly have advantages… and it wasn't like Imoen was using her or anything. Taking her home and having her clean up the apartment might cheer the girl up a bit, so they both gained something. Of course, if she didn't hand Aerie over or get any money for her then there wasn't going to be any apartment. She'd checked with the bank and was down to sixteen dollars, so unless Minsc had a fortune stashed somewhere about his person…

As Aerie approached the fridge Yoshimo hovered nearby, scrutinizing her every move, watching for any sign of rebellion.

"You… need not fear, sir," the blonde bowed her head, "I know I can't escape. A-also… Avariel never go back on our word."

And while he scrutinized her, Imoen scrutinized him as he picked the soda and forced it into Aerie's hands. His poker face was starting to crack a little. His conscience was starting to give him trouble, although he was still determined to go through with his plan… whatever that was.

"What do the Seldarine look like anyway," Imoen said when Aerie returned, doing her best nonchalant yawn and stretch.

"It's… hard to say, since no one has ever seen one," the alien dutifully answered, "They have only ever communicated their wishes indirectly."

"And you're okay with that? How can you serve a master whose face you don't know… don't even know if he has a face."

"D-do not many humans believe in serving a higher being?"

"Well, yeah, but that's different… That's God. He's the one who… just… look, just damn your Vulcan logic."

"We… only know that the Seldarine are a form of life very different from others. So much so that… i-it simply isn't possible for them to have direct communication with other races. Part of the ELF's purpose w-was to be intermediaries between them and other peoples." 

"But you must want to know what they look like… I know I do and I've only just heard about them. Or maybe it's just that humans are obsessed with what things look like… maybe you've picked up on that already. I remember reading my school reports by Sister Francesca, and she would write things like 'a pleasingly plump individual, a little shorter than the other girls'. Because I was a bit chunkier when I was little… it's not really a school report though is it? It's more like a biologist's field notes… 'Imoen: Small red haired mammal. Can be sighted at dusk scurrying towards the cookie jars…'"

Imoen stopped herself, once again catching Aerie's Vulcan eyebrow or question face. It was more than that though… the blonde's tiny mouth hung slightly open and was accompanied by a certain starry eyed fascination.

"Have I strayed a bit off-topic?" Imoen smiled, "I'm babbling again…" 

"I… don't mind," Aerie said very softly. Poor girl was like a love starved puppy… just happy that someone was talking to her and not caring that nothing they said made any sense at all. 

"You're a better person than most humans are… most humans would say 'shut the hell up Emmy, you're giving me a headache.'"

"Now that you mention it," scoffed Yoshimo.

"You know, we're having a private conversation," the red head informed him, "you don't have to listen." 

"Agreed… it is just that my understanding of 'conversation' is that it involves two or more people talking to each other. Not just you prattling about your school days to any person that will listen."

"What about you, Yoshi? Where did you go to school? I bet the girls all loved you."

"That goes without saying," he shrugged, "beyond that; I do not see it as being any of your business."

"Well, that's one point of view. Another point of view is that it's kinda hard to trust someone who won't say anything about themselves. Kinda of makes you think they've got something to hide. I mean, do you have anyone waiting for you in Japan? Just yes or no… you don't have to give away any big secrets or anything…"

"No," he answered. There was something about the way he said; the slight sneer as if somehow that were all Imoen's fault.

"Right… sorry," although the red head wasn't sure what she was sorry for. His fault if he lived the life of a loner, and it wasn't as if she was any better off. She could count her number of living friends on one hand… well, two fingers really. Neither of them had sent a Christmas card last year. So she guessed she would to scrub them off the list as well. "We're all lonely here," she sighed, "Lonely as stones with… no moss… but we just gotta keep on rolling…" if someone was ever going to write this stuff down she would make sure Aerie came up with a slightly better sounding metaphor.

Fortunately, before anyone could break into a recital of 'Old Man River', fate intervened to prevent such an assault on anyone's eardrums. The engines stopped and Dynaheir shuddered to a halt.

"We have arrived!" Minsc nevertheless declared in a sing-song manner. The words struck Aerie like the toll of a funeral bell.

"What will happen to you?" Imoen, who had now sat up, asked solemnly. 

"Th-they… want to know everything that I know," Aerie spoke to the floor, "but… I've seen now that humans lack the patience… t-to take time needed to understand or to use such knowledge wisely. So… I-I'm going to try… try to not to tell them anything."

Somehow Imoen suspected Aerie would do more than try. The Avariel obviously didn't believe her own life was that important, and no amount of torture was likely to change that. They already knew she could be damn stubborn even in the face of her own death.

"Well," the red head clapped her hands together, finding that the melancholy thoughts she was having didn't really suit her, "suppose I'd better go outside and take a look. Minsc will keep an eye on you."

The hatch opened and she followed Yoshimo into the cold night. Dynaheir was, for now, well concealed under trees and other foliage. The place where they were to deliver Aerie into the hands of a top secret branch of the US military lay just over the hill above them. The thieves made their way up but remained close to the ground.

The place was an abandoned chemical plant. Miles of pipes ran all over the place… what purpose they served Imoen couldn't say; you would have to ask someone who knew a lot more about this sort of thing. What she could say however the buildings and warehouses were numerous and close together, meaning there would be little room for a big vehicle like Dynaheir to maneuver. Through her binoculars she could see what looked like soldiers armed with Sub Machine Guns patrolling the grounds. Hidden away there were likely snipers and rockets. The place was clearly a death trap.

"They're gonna kill her you know," Imoen said just to lighten the mood. She lay next to Yoshimo, each of them peering over the hill. "Soon as they realize she won't say anything, they'll make sure she never goes blabbing to anyone else."

"We don't know that," Yoshimo sighed.

"Yeah we do. See, they can lock up her up and torture her because inalienable rights don't apply to actual aliens. Least that's what these guys figure."

"All she is a servant… she's like a worker ant…"

"She's not… I see it in her eyes. All that stuff about serving… it's not enough. She knows there's more to life than that."

"We don't know that they'll kill her," Yoshimo protested again, "If you ask me, she's done a fine job of getting to you."

"Yeah, I've thought of that too," Imoen slid back a bit, "that maybe all along it was Aerie somehow manipulating me into coming and rescuing her… but too much about it doesn't add up. All she's done is told the truth… if we're feeling guilty it's because we know everything is wrong. Rather than face it up to it like we should we start looking for ways to blame other people, even our own victims. Further proof that the whole human race is just damn immature…"

Yoshimo turned around and was about to formulate a counter argument, when a heavy branch connecting with his jaw knocked him unconscious.

"'Strikes with the unerring precision of an eagle'," Imoen made her own report.

This had never been a dilemma, at least not as much as getting up to turn off the TV had been. There was no way she was letting someone who had committed no crime be locked up and tortured. Besides, Aerie was right. Alien tech was lethal to humans.

The smart thing to do now would be to run away to Brazil, cover Aerie's ears with a hat and lay low for about fifty years.

_No, the really smart thing to do Immy would be to kill Yoshimo…go on, once through the head and once through the heart. Then you can get away… _

Imoen had her hand on her holster. It did make sense, but… she'd never shot anyone like that before. Instead she lifted Yoshimo from under his arms and started dragging him back to Dynaheir.

"Lucky for you I'm not an executioner," she whispered. Besides, she wasn't just doing this for Aerie. If Yoshimo didn't, then someone in that plant might know about the dreams she was having or about the bald guy with a leather fetish, if he was even real.

"M-Minsc!" She huffed as soon as she had opened the hatch. The huge Russian picked up Yoshimo in one hand relieving Imoen of the burden. For a quite little guy he was damn heavy.

"What has happened?" The big guy asked as he dropped Yoshi into a seat. Imoen wasted no time getting out the tape and binding his hands.

"Tiny difference of opinion, that's all."

"Are we not returning little Aerie to her friends?"

"Those people were never Aerie's friends Minsc… haven't you been paying any attention at all?" He turned to Boo who apparently confirmed that thus far, they hadn't being doing Aerie any favors. "As for you," Imoen turned to the blonde, "I knew you were gonna cause trouble." 

"I'm sorry," Aerie looked confused, "I… didn't mean to."

"Yeah, well… you're free to go now if you want."

The blonde stared at the stars beyond the hatch. This was all confusing to her, but there was a spark in eyes. Hope was a very good feeling. It didn't seem to last long however.

"Go where?" She asked resignedly.

"That' a way… doesn't really matter does it? So long as you get away from here."

"I… don't know what your world is like. A-am I not likely to just be captured again anyway?"

"I don't know… maybe. But you'll have a fighting chance at least."

Aerie tilted her head, processing the information and weighing the pros and cons. At first it looked like Imoen's argument was winning. But then, she turned her face up and looked the red head directly in the eye. 

"W-what are you going to do?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah… that's the thousand dollar question," Imoen sighed, "I really have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just hoping that someone around here will have some answers for me."

"Answers to what?" 

"Project ELF… I saw it all you know; in a dream… just before I found out it was all real. I don't know… you said that Kalah was able to 'influence' those creatures back on the island. Can one of your people cause someone to have dreams?"

"S-some Avariel can cause others to experience hallucinations… but actually giving a person dreams in their sleep? N-no… I've never heard of a thing like that."

"Wouldn't explain why anyone would be interested in me anyway."

"Maybe I can help you?" 

"Aerie… beasts with claws are one thing. There are lot of well trained and heavily armed men down there."

"I-I'm not defenseless… all Avariel are trained in basic combat techniques. If the city ship is invaded we must all fight to defend it."

"No offence, but you've been out of practice for nearly forty years," Imoen said, causing Aerie to hang her head sadly.

"Would… would you have a better chance on your own?"

"Not really."

"Then I must help you," the Avariel looked up again resolutely.

"What," Imoen sighed and opened a pouch on her belt, "What if you had this?" Aerie was a little shocked to see the Witch Crystal. It had been fused to Kalah's skull and Imoen had to cut it out with a knife while no-one was looking. The whole thing was icky… but she could hardly leave it so the De'Arnises could make the same mistake again.

She dropped the tiny crystal into Aerie's hand and it instantly began glowing to her touch. "Cos, if you could make a shield or those fireball things, that would be really helpful." 

"With… Quayles help, I have been learning to focus the energy," Aerie explained, "b-but… I could not possibly channel as much energy as Kalah. I can shield you from their bullets… but, only for about a minute."

"That'll have to do… it'll be the four of us… yes, I was counting Boo… the four of us versus the US Armed Forces. Now I don't know about them, but you guys already scare the hell out of me. And hey Aerie, if we survive, I'll bring back to my hometown and you can help me pick out the box we're going to spend the rest of our lives living under."

"Th-thank you… I, think…"

Imoen took in a deep breath to steady herself, as she realized that from now on everything that happened to Aerie was her responsibility, which was the scariest feeling she had ever had. She'd never been responsible for anything… well, actually she'd been responsible for lots of things like crashing puffguts car. But, she'd never had anyone look up to her and trust her to take care of them. She wasn't sure she could, even if she was far wealthier and better off than she was.

' _She trusts you _,' a voice said from a very far away place, ' _Just try your best not to betray that trust and you'll do fine _.' 

' _I will _,' Imoen's inner voice answered, ' _I just know I'm always going to resent Aerie a little for making me feel old _.'


	10. Chapter 10 Insurrection, Part Two

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #010  
Insurrection, Part Two **

So, this was it then. They were all going to die, and for what? Because Imoen had a bad dream… pretty petty and selfish really.

Make no mistake, things were pretty bad. Powerful though Kalah and the Rauko had been, in many ways they had been a far easier opponent than what they were about to face. Human beings. You see, Imoen was one, so they thought the same way she did. It was her being the same as them that made them frightening to face.

You can kill a monster easily, especially when it was all teeth and claws and not cute in any way at all. A creature like that's brains you can fry out without giving it a second thought… but down there were people. People with boyfriends, girlfriends, families, pets… realizing that, Imoen knew she was at a great disadvantage. Sure, she had been in battles with people before but for her it had never gotten any easier. The soldiers on the other hand weren't likely to hesitate to shoot any of them. The only way for her to survive such battles was to keep telling herself that these guys had done wrong, and therefore had forfeited the right to be thought of as people at all. They were no better than the monsters.

But in fact, most the guys down there are probably ordinary soldiers just doing what they'd been ordered to… this was why Imoen would never survive in a war. Another thing that could work though was that she wasn't exactly proud to be human right now. In fact, she was beginning to think that we were basically the telesales people of the universe.

So, with that thought in mind she steeled herself and turned to her captive.

"Hey, wake up you!" The red head pleaded with Yoshimo, who didn't respond at all. She was reasonably sure she had only knocked him unconscious and hadn't caused any more serious damage. He was still breathing anyway and there was no drool coming from the corner of his mouth which she considered good signs.

Maybe she needed to slap him or throw cold water in his face or something… to be honest, questioning and torture wasn't something she could ever get into. For one thing, at just five foot and four inches tall and quite skinny as well, she wasn't a very physically intimidating person. She wasn't good at looming, like say, Batman in comic books. She imagined him as having a deep threatening voice as well which would help a lot. Also, when Batman threatened someone they obviously believed he was capable of carrying out those threats, but people never felt that with her and they were usually right. What could she say? She was just too nice a person. It was her only major flaw.

Luckily, Yoshimo did soon start to stir of his own accord. He rolled his head and tested his jaw before his eyes finally came to rest on the red head.

"I am to assume then that your foolishness was never anything more than an act to throw me off guard?"

"Uh… sure, that's it," Imoen thought she had something up her nose but found nothing. Now her full attention could be on her captive. "Listen chump, you'd better answer my questions or I… I'll harm you, got it? Good. Now, why'd you come to me? And I know it wasn't because of my reputation, coz…"

"… Because you do not have a reputation?"

"Well… yeah," her face reddened. It had always been Diana people were interested in. She was afterall so much more voluptuous than Imoen, who always tagged along but was never really noticed. Funny thing is it had never bothered her at the time. Her inner analyst told her that since her life had been on such a downward spiral since Diana departed, she now regretted never being anything more than a sidekick. Perhaps if she hadn't let her sister hog all of the spotlight things wouldn't have gotten so bad.

"Still… think maybe I'll have a reputation after this little escapade… I'll be America's most wanted. And you really should not be messing with a desperate criminal," Imoen tried to point in a threatening manner, but she came out looking like a moody nine year old. All it needed was for her to huff and stamp her foot. Yoshimo obviously wasn't impressed.

"The truth is I do not know why I was asked to seek you out," he said and gave the impression that he was being kind by doing so, "I was simply told to watch you."

"And Aerie?"

"Not important."

"Not important? She's like the most important ever to happen to our planet… plus she still has thousands of year's worth of science stuff locked in her brain…"

"And it would take us that long to understand most of it anyway… it was not important whether she returned alive or dead. You were the only thing that mattered."

"So… the whole thing was some kind of test?"

"That is my guess… of course, now that you have seen through my ruse I doubt either of us will leave here alive."

"But why? And why all the deception anyway? You know, they could have just asked me nicely."

"I do not know," shrugged Yoshimo whilst Imoen's brows furrowed in concentration. Things made even less sense now than they did before, when she was just a pawn being used so no-one could trace things back to the US military. Now she was at the center of some much larger conspiracy and she had no idea why. She was unnaturally cute of course, but other than that there was nothing remarkable about her.

It could be a revenge thing… Imoen had never done anything to anyone, at least nothing that would warrant such an expensive and elaborate scheme. Her spotlight hogging sister on the other hand… Diana could have done something to really make someone mad, but since she wasn't around anymore for people to get revenge on they go after the people who had been close to her. Kind of unfair and unjust really… but revenge typically wasn't very rational.

This presented a problem for Imoen also, since she couldn't exactly just ask her deceased sister about it. Not even in her dreams since Diana tended to go all Evil Dead on her. The only living person who might know anything Diana hadn't told Imoen was Jaheira, a vigilante who was also part of the Harper Guild. Unfortunately, getting hold of her wasn't exactly easy. It wasn't like there was signal you just lit up… no, Harpers showed up to help if and when they felt like it and departed in much the same way. For the time being, there was only one avenue left to explore.

"Irenicus," the red head said and leant in close to Yoshimo so that she could clearly every line on his face, "He is real isn't he?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he snorted, but he was lying. She'd learnt how to read him now.

"What about you Aerie? Does the name 'Irenicus' mean anything to you?" If he was real after all, then it was possible he'd wanted Aerie out of the way for some reason.

"W-well, lot's of things, I'm afraid," the blonde shifted uneasily, "T-there are hundreds of names using that sound, a-across dozens of planets…"

"What about in your language? The man I saw looked human..."

"Well, i-if it's a man, ma'am, then he is unlikely to be Avariel since all Avariel are female. The name does mean 'shattered one' in Suldanese… t-they are also creations of the Seldarine and are made in both genders. Their home world however is… w-well; it's the other side of the galaxy…"

"So, I've got a man, possibly an alien man, who wants to test me… and he's damn well succeeded at that," Imoen's eyes never left Yoshimo. "Is he here?"

"Doubtful," the Japanese man said. At least now he seemed to have some measure of respect for Imoen.

"So where is Project ELF located?"

"I do not know," he said, Imoen still studying him closely.

"I believe you," she smiled sweetly, "so, you might as well go back to sleep." She jabbed the needle she'd been concealing into his arm and turned away.

"W-what… what will you do with him?" Aerie asked.

"Should really kill him," Imoen felt herself sweating. It was a lot of pressure being the one everyone looked to for answers. Aerie may have known everything there is to know about space and technology, but the kid had no idea how things worked here on Earth. And Minsc was no help at all. The giant seemed even more puzzled than the alien.

"I could not allow that… e-even though it's you…"it wasn't self defense therefore it would be wrong. Frightened and nervous though she seemed it was clear Aerie wouldn't compromise on things like that. You had to respect that kind of morality, even if at times it seemed naïve. Especially a time like now when there where so many people looking to kill all of them.

"Relax… I wasn't actually going to do it. I… I don't think I could even if I wanted to. We'll just have to dump him in these woods somewhere and hope he's smart enough never to come back."

Now Aerie, who had indeed relaxed, had not so far shown any anger about anything that had been done to her, the captivity and the torture. For one thing, there was no point in lashing out when you were certain to lose. For most people survival mattered a whole lot more than revenge, so it was a lot easier to twist facts so that she made herself believe it was her own fault she was being punished. But even when she thought they were certain to kill her she still accepted it. It was because of 'naïve morality'. It didn't matter what anyone did to her, because she believed she served something far greater than just herself. Was that what a real hero was? Someone who stood up for ideals no matter how hard it was and no matter what anyone thought…

Imoen on the other hand was only fighting for herself, and so far it had only being a co-incidence that she'd done a little good along the way and the people she was fighting happened to be bad. As far as motivations go, she found hers was somewhat lacking and the thought of just turning round and forgetting everything still carried a lot of appeal. But then would this Irenicus keep coming to her in her dreams?

"Minsc and Boo stand waiting," the Russian said.

"Er, what?" The red head responded. Apparently she'd zoned out for a moment there.

"These men…. These pus filled boils on the smooth buttocks of good," Minsc spat with barely concealed anger, "They have lied and used deceit and worse is what they have done to fair Aerie… Minsc says they are in need of a butt kicking and he will wait no longer!"

"Alright," Immy smiled. He was right… they would be kicking butts for a good cause. And the truth was just she had already gone too far to turn back now. "We need a plan though… can't just go in there guns a'blazin'."

The cyborg leant forward looking her squarely in the eye. "Why not?" He asked.

"Well… for one thing there's a lot of open ground between us and them. They're bound to have set up mines and have rockets covering the area."

"I-I can take care of any mines," Aerie said.

"And Boo assures us that Dynaheir's armor can withstand many rocket attacks… and he prefers to do his butt kicking at night so that he may sleep during the day."

"Hamsters are nocturnal, Minsc. But, I suppose if we're gonna do this our best chance is to go now. Alright, if Boo is completely sure he can get us to those buildings in one piece, then we'll do it."

--

Leaves rustled and parted as Ammale, the yellow bird, hovered silently towards the edge of the woods. There it remained still, the only movement being its green eyes scanning the area it and the plant. With Minsc's help, Aerie was able to set up within minutes a link so that they could see through the probes eyes from within Dynaheir.

"You… you were correct," the Avariel pointed out many brownish blobs on the screen in front of her, along with a whole bunch of other strange symbols which only meant anything to her. "Ammale detects many explosive devices. S-some seem to require being triggered remotely… o-others are magnetic. I can detonate all of them…"

"I don't need to know all the details Aerie," Imoen made ready her assault rifle; "you do your voodoo, and leave the rest to us."

Aerie didn't know what voodoo was, but she got the gist of what Imoen said and sent the signal to Ammale, who did… something. Imoen wasn't sure what but she was sure it was all perfectly scientific. In any case, it worked. Everyone in the facility was alerted to their arrival by a terrific bang as every mine simultaneously detonated. Dirt fizzled over Ammale's bluish force shield as the metallic bird turned away and headed back into the woods.

"Sha-zam," Imoen said in awe, then realized that the dirt cloud was also the perfect cover for them. Fortunately Minsc was already ahead of her on that and had instantly put his mighty foot down. Unfortunately Imoen was standing up at the time and found herself thrown against the bunks. Aerie at least went back to check on her, but Minsc was taking them at full speed towards the largest building ahead of them laughing manically all the way.

"I'd better not have a bump," Imoen managed sitting up and rubbed her forehead, "I do not want to meet a villain looking like the sister the elephant kept hidden in the attic…"

"Y-you, can hardly see it ma'am," Aerie helped her up and smiled.

"Imoen… ma'am is what you call the Queen of England…" the two fell back on their respective asses as Dynaheir was violently shaken. Rockets. Most of them were missing and going off nearby but at least one had been a direct hit. Minsc didn't seem to notice, but it wasn't a good idea for them to stay out in the open. Luckily Imoen could make out Minsc's screen and it didn't seem that they were. "Better hold on to something," she told the blonde.

Dynaheir versus the brick wall was no contest and the wall gave in instantly. It was only when they were through that Minsc bothered to slam on the brakes and vehicles screeched to a halt amongst the fallen masonry. Guns started to clatter, but they were Dynaheir's, strategically placed to keep enemies away from the hatches so that troops could be unloaded safely. The Cyborg was able to control them from a link he had built into to himself. Like he giddy child he leapt from the driver's seat and picked up three of his favorite, and biggest, guns.

"Minsc!" Imoen made a feeble effort to restrain him before jump out onto the battle field. "Look, you're getting carried away again!"

The huge Russian did stop and hang his head sulkily. For a second it seemed he would finally get a hold of himself, but when he looked up he still had that manic look in his eye. He pulled down the door lever and bounded out.

"MINSC WILL SMASH! HAHAHA!" The Russian cried. In little time the sound of gunfire was everywhere, and in just a little more time it gave way in most places to the sound of desperate soldiers running for their lives.

"I suppose at least this means we can go and find whoever's in charge here while he has the troops all occupied," Imoen shook her head while Aerie looked a little shocked and a little concerned. "Don't worry… there's not much that can penetrate his skin. And even when it does it's not like there's much human blood left inside him anyway. Nothing short of a bazooka to the chest is going to stop him, and he can move pretty fast for a big guy too."

And at least, it looked like they had achieved total surprise and caught the enemy with his pants down. Rather than give them time to regroup, she and Aerie moved out and headed cautiously in the other direction to Minsc.

--

The Major padded across the disused factory floor and stood to attention behind a large armchair that faced the window. All that could be seen of its occupant was a single segmented metal gauntlet putting out a cigar in an ashtray rested on the chairs right arm. The guys had imaginatively given him the nickname of Doctor Claw. He wasn't the big boss in the organization, but, well, frankly he scared the hell out of everyone.

"What's all the raucous out there, soldier," Claw spoke calmly, even if the last word dripped with irony.

They said this guy was half-machine, but the Major knew that was just talk. In fact, it was more like a 70/30 split. That was seventy per cent machine. Years ago he'd been in an accident that left him disfigured and caused him to lose his right hand, so he'd devised his own cybernetic claw to replace it. Since then, as various muscles and organs had failed he'd just gone on replacing them until hardly anything at all was left of the man.

"Our guests have arrived, sir," the Major got a grip of himself.

"And I guess they're backing out of our deal… it was expected that they might. Is Aerie with them, anyway?"

"We don't know sir. All we've seen so far is a seven foot man who swears in Russian."

"She is. I know it's not rational soldier, but I can sense that she's here," the claw moved over to a tray and picked out a scalpel with surprising precision for such a cumbersome looking appendage. The blade seemed tiny, but the claw slowly twisted it round and round his fingers. "We bonded a lot you see, in the time we were together…"

The Major coughed loudly. He didn't even want to imagine the kind of sadistic games Doctor Claw would have played. "Uh, our instructions sir?"

"Hmmm… save the red head if you can. Kill the other one… but I want my Aerie. You know, when she left, she left a hole in my heart… and I can never cause her pain enough to fill it. But it sure feels good… making her pay day after day for what she did to me."

Somehow though, the Major found it hard to believe that Claw had any feelings left at all.


	11. Chapter 11 Insurrection, Part Three

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #011  
Insurrection, Part Three **

For Imoen, things kept getting curiouser and curiouser. Phrases like that were normally best suited to Aerie; almost every object they came across seemed to hold some fascination for the alien girl. She acted like she'd never seen tins of paint before. Of course it was quite possible that she hadn't, and at least she hadn't tried to drink their contents… Not that Imoen had ever tried that either, and definitely not as part of an experiment to see if green stuff all tasted like peas. Because that would be crazy, even for a five year old. And... well actually lets not bother with the ironic and unexpected age joke now. It was very silly, and the situation had become more serious.

Neither of them knew what to make of what they'd found now. These men had been killed quite recently, so recently that you could almost believe they were just asleep. That was before you realized that their bodies had been cut in two by machine-gun fire.

Maybe it was fear of her own mortality or something like that, you would probably have to ask someone who was actually a psychiatrist, but no matter how often she saw them Imoen never got used to being around dead people. She could bear looking at the stony eyes staring into nothing or the final expressions etched on their faces, which for her was often surprise and pain. Even so, just like the body she'd found on the island she just had to swallow back her uneasiness and examine them for possible clues.

They had no identification, but one thing that stood out was their clothes and some of the equipment still left on their bodies… all military issue. It looked a lot like this had been some sort of Special Ops unit.

"I don't understand any of this," Imoen shook her head, "why are people from the same army shooting each other?"

"T-they didn't," Aerie said. Thanks to Kalah she too had become acquainted with death, like Imoen though it still made her uneasy, but she hadn't learnt to hide her feelings as well and shuddered when she touched the corpse in front of her. She caught Imoen's gaze then flushed and turned away. "Not all of them anyway… this one wasn't shot. I… think that… t-these are electrical burns," the blonde pointed out, "this man was tortured… I think."

"Why? I don't get this at all…" unfortunately the only thing Aerie's observation helped explain was why the red head thought she'd smelt barbeque.

"Do humans need a reason to do any of this?" Aerie muttered grimly, and then went wide eyed when she realized Imoen had heard her. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, no-one can blame you for thinking that… but really, this stuff's supposed to be illegal even towards other countries soldiers. And what happened to you… if more people had known, then maybe… I don't know, they would have kicked up a fuss at least. Had a 'let Aerie go' campaign on television… and while they're reeling from that they could hit the government and the military really hard with leaflets and posters and stuff…"

"And… they would have released me?" Aerie arched an eyebrow skeptically.

"You get the right people on your side… the sort who know how to manipulate people through media, then sure. You know, the pens mightier than the sword and that."

"Then… w-why aren't we armed with pens?" Aerie forced a slight smile.

"I've got a phone… I could say 'halt your evil ways or I shall send a text message to all the major news networks…' actually there isn't any signal so I can't. I suppose we'd need more evidence anyway… Yoshimo was right. People won't believe just you… they'd want to see a great big space ship."

"I'm afraid I lost mine… I-I suppose your army still has it somewhere. It's just as well, I think…"

"Why's that?"

"I… I know that humans can be kind, a-and extremely brave… Quayle and others have tried to help me over the years e-even while the majority didn't care. But I do think that many others would be afraid. N-not of me of course," Aerie grinned, "I am, as you say, an ordinary girl.. At least, I am wh-where I come from. But to others of your kind, I represent the knowledge that there are peoples out there far stronger than any nation on Earth… c-creatures that your leaders and their armies could never protect their people against. I-f my scout ship was in orbit right now… it could destroy all life on your world in a matter of moments. So… I think t-they did what they did out of fear."

"Maybe," Imoen went very quiet, which was strange. Maybe there was some truth in what Aerie said, but the red head didn't really buy it as an excuse. Even if aliens were more powerful, we could at least show that we can be just as civilized… but if it helped justify things to Aerie then she wasn't going to contradict it just yet. "Anyway… why are we standing around chatting in a room full of dead bodies?"

Probably because they both wanted to keep their minds off it. And though she stuttered a lot and was hard to hear sometimes, it was easier chatting to Aerie than it had been to Minsc, or even Yoshimo since neither of them had ever really trusted the other. Not very professional though. Luckily, with all the noise Minsc had been making they could be pretty sure they were well away from the main battle for now.

As for these men… she didn't who they were or what they'd be doing, or who would miss them; but there was nothing they could do here. Yet, she found herself staring down at a corpse, right into its grey marble eyes…

Death is pretty?

"Mm..ma'am?" Imoen jumped suddenly when she felt Aerie's touch on her shoulder. She in turn startled the blonde who fell on her butt again.

Had she said that out loud? Why would she even think that?

"Ar-are you okay?" Aerie scrambled quickly back to her feet.

"I'm sorry… I'm fine. Gee… don't suppose anywhere in that vast brain there's a cure for stress?" That's all it was. It had to be. She'd been targeted by a top secret project for reasons she knew nothing about, she had Minsc suddenly rush off on a mighty berserker rage, and Aerie… well actually Aerie had been pretty good so far, but Imoen was worried about what either of them would do after this was over.

"N-none that would help in our current situation, I'm afraid. I think the on-only permanent cure is to find the source of your worries and deal with it."

"Your right, that's what we should be doing," the source of it was Irenicus, a man whom she'd only ever seen in a dream and whom she'd recently started might be an alien without thinking that at all strange… that wasn't a sign of insanity though, it was just that her mind had been opened up to knew possibilities. To deal with him she just had to find him. "Let's go."

She took one last look at the bodies, and was relieved to find she wasn't yet developing a preference for dead people. Imoen couldn't avenge these men, much as she wanted to. Pursuing revenge would place Aerie's life in more danger as well as her own. She was at least still able to hear Minsc tearing the place apart and beating the crap out of the enemy.

At least now she knew the animals deserved everything they got. And if she should happen across any of them herself, and should happen to have a loaded gun in her hands… well she did. So now she almost had to use it.

--

"Evil! Say hello to Minsc's little friend!" The Russian roared, sending a hail of bullets into walls, boxes, crates and other evil looking items of scenery, all out of the nozzle of a gun designed to be mounted on a jeep which Minsc held in one hand. Soldiers scrambled in all directions in their attempts to escape the destruction the cyborg unleashed.

"Damn… you're giving me such a headache," said a voice. Minsc looked at his other hand, and was surprised to find he was still holding onto a foot attached to a man. "Why you have to shout everything?"

"So that evil doers will learn to tremble before the might of Minsc and Boo! But Boo has no voice, so Minsc must shout for both of us!"

"People will tremble at the sight of you… you don't have to shout. It just makes it seem like you're doing all this just for the attention."

"Hmm… yes, Minsc's size means people cannot help but pay attention, and Boo often does say that it is actions that will speak louder than words," the big man screwed up his face as he thought deeply about why he needed to shout so much. "Minsc just likes shouting," he eventually shrugged, bounced the man's head off the floor a few times until he had lost consciousness then dropped him.

Other evil doers then started to shoot at Minsc. By now you'd have thought they'd have learnt that ordinary weapons wouldn't hurt him. Grinning wildly, the cyborg raised his weapon and pulled the trigger. There was a click and then, nothing. He had expended all the weapons ammunition.

Frowning, he threw that aside as well and stomped towards the nearest attacker who was crouched behind a crate. Bullets bounced around him, but still he proceeded with terrifying inevitability, taking the nozzle of the soldier's gun, twisting it, then lifting the man and throwing him across the room into the other attacker.

To Minsc's annoyance things went quiet after that. He continued to stomp through various buildings shouting as he went, but it seemed evil was now keeping its distance. He thought a few times he could take it by surprise by walking through a wall, but found nothing. Perhaps there was something to be said for not shouting.

"You cannot hide from the boot of justice forever evil!" He called out in frustration. "Butts will be kicked!"

"Oh my, such a right-brained personality we have here."

Minsc had found them at last, or had they found him? Perhaps they'd realized that by hiding they only delayed the inevitable. In any case, the man who would just spoke appeared to be their leader, as clearly commanded the fear and respect of the soldiers with him, although he was dressed very unlike.

Minsc couldn't see all of him, for the man lurked in the shadows. Evil doers don't like to be seen in the light. He wore a long dark coat and cowboy hat… further proof of his evil since Minsc knew enough about westerns to know that only the bad guy cowboys wore black hats. There was also something unusual about his right hand; it was large, segmented, and it glinted.

"A pity really, you were once such a visionary," the man spoke again. If he did feel any pity though his voice showed no trace of it. "Even I have learnt much from your research."

"The only thing Minsc will teach you now is to bend over and accept your punishment!" The Russian roared and charged towards his foe.

"But there I think you are very mistaken," the man said, not flinching at all as the five hundred pound cyborg bounded his way towards him. He waited until Minsc was halfway, and then moved his left arm around to the front revealing a device with a large antenna at the front which he pointed at Minsc.

Suddenly Minsc found that only his momentum was carrying him forward, until he stumbled and smashed head first into the concrete leaving a man shaped crater. He tried to move, but found that none of his cybernetic components would respond to his brains signals. Boo suggested he'd been struck by some kind of Electro Magnetic Pulse weapon.

When he did move, it wasn't under his own power. The man in the black hat along with some of the soldiers turned him over so that the Russian was looking up.

"My own implants are not as sophisticated as yours," the man said. Minsc could see his face now, or at least part of it. Only the eyes, mouth and jaw were really visible, the rest of it having been replaced with skin of steel. "I think however you will teach me much, now that I have this opportunity to study you."

"Is that a hamster?" Another man, whose insignia indicated he was a major, said as he saw the small animal scurry away.

"I do think we have bigger concerns right now," the leader said and the Major snapped back to attention.

"Half the men are out of action and we've seen no sign of any of the others,"

"There is no need to go looking for them. They will come to us."

"How can you...?"

"Would you abandon a comrade, major?"

"I guess not."

"When the others come to check on the condition of their friend, we will have them. All we need do now is prepare the trap."

"Yes, sir," the Major saluted as the black hat man walked away. It was clear the Major was uncomfortable taking orders from him.

"That Sorel… I don't know why he creeps me out as much as he does," another soldier said as a group of them prepared to heave Minsc.

"He talks like a man. He even tries to act like one sometimes," the Major answered, evidently unnerved just thinking about his commander. "But its wrong… it's not just that there's no emotion. He's got no body language at all… it's like taking orders from one of the living dead."

--

"Minsc?" Imoen got nothing but static back through her radio, "It's like he's not even got his switched on." She bit down on her lip, knowing she was going to have to go back to check on him.

The battle had gone quiet a while ago, but then suddenly it had gone too quiet. It was what she'd been afraid of. Sure, they'd taken the place by surprise, but these guys must have known what they might be up against and prepared for it. She hadn't heard an explosion, so at least it had been a bazooka to the chest. The good news was Minsc was very hard to kill; his head could survive away from his body for a very long time. But if he had only been incapacitated, there was still the problem of herself and Aerie not quite being up to the task of carrying the whole of him out of here.

"We've gotta go back," she said to Aerie, "How's your witch crystal thing?"

"Well," Aerie held up her wrist. The original tiara it had been set into was still fused to Kalah's skull, but with Minsc's assistance they had set it into a bracelet. "W-witchy and crystally, I guess."

"Okay. We've gotta be quiet. No more friendly banter, okay?" Aerie nodded. She took a few small steps in their direction, when Imoen stopped her with a hand on the shoulder. "Aerie…"

"Y-yes?"

"We've gotta be quick too."

"Faster than Chiktikka Fastpaws," the blonde smiled.

"Um… that cartoon about the Raccoon?"

"I-it's one of the television shows I was allowed to view on the island. Do you like it?"

"It's okay I guess," but now wasn't the time for discussing the merits of their favorite TV shows, "We'd better get moving."

And they did. Imoen led the way back across the various buildings, finding it very easy to follow Minsc's trail. You just had to look for thing that had been smashed, find where the holes in the wall were, and they found him. She climbed the stairs to the second story of a warehouse building and spotted him lying motionless on the floor, only the movement of his eyes betraying any sign of life. Imoen clenched her fist and held up her forearm up, but Aerie walked into the back of her.

"That means halt!" the red head whispered.

"Um… s-sorry," Aerie reddened and bowed her head from shame.

"It's alright… just keep your head up. None of this smells right…" In one of the Jurassic Park films the raptors had set a trap exactly like this, so it would be pretty dumb for her to fall for it now. But she couldn't leave her friend there like that; she had to find out if he was okay. "Stay here and keep an eye out for… anything."

Imoen stayed low as she moved out of the shadows, eyes and weapon scanning from side to side as she approached the big Russian. As she got close, she noticed his eyes staring hard at her as if trying to tell her something, but for some reason he was unable to speak. It was pretty obvious what he wanted to say.

A sphere of light flew by her ear, colliding with one of the soldiers as they funneled in from the other side of the room. The sphere had obviously come from Aerie – not quite the fireballs Kalah had but at least it had alerted Imoen and she scrambled back to where they come in. The soldiers immediately spread and started firing after her, most of their shots on target. Luckily for Imoen, the bullets met with a wall of energy. They had been firing at her legs though, like they were trying to take her alive.

When she got back to Aerie, the Avariel was staring ahead, her eyes wide in fear. Imoen followed the gaze back to the man with half a face and a black hat who stood right behind the soldiers.

"Sorel," the blonde uttered under her breath. Imoen pulled her behind some cover – some old boxes that she could only hope contained something that would protect them. Aerie breathed in out deeply. She had explained earlier that channeling in this way requires a lot of concentration, but that it also places the body under strain which was why she couldn't keep it up for long periods at a time.

"Who's Sorel?" The red head asked.

"H-he… used to be in charge of the project. He's insane… he blames me for the accident. But… I-I tried to warn him…"

Imoen shot up and returned some fire, before ducking back down again. When she did, she saw this man, Sorel, pressing something on a gauntleted fist.

"We've gotta get out of here. Ready?" Aerie gulped then nodded. She was clearly very afraid of this person, far more than she had been of Kalah. On the island she had been prepared to face the scary monster in order to help her friend, but now she was very eager to leave. So was Imoen. She would have to find another way to retrieve Minsc.

The two of them bolted to the exit, Aerie's shield providing them with cover. But shortly after they'd made it through the blonde screamed and collapsed, apparently in great pain.

"What's wrong?" Imoen leant over her.

"He… he must be using high frequency sound t-to disrupt the flow. I'm sorry… I-I've failed you," Aerie got to her knees and sobbed.

"What are you talking about?" The red head pulled at her, urging her to get back up.

"I… I tried my best, ma'am," the blonde said. Then suddenly she pushed Imoen, the red head falling through a hole in the floor and landing in some dusty sacks on the floor below. As she looked up, she saw the man with the gauntleted hand appear, striking Aerie with it just as she turned to face him. The blonde crumpled to the floor in a heap.

"Nononononono… No!" The red head shouted as she rolled off the items that had cushioned. "Sorel! You're not getting away with this!"

"Another weak, emotional creature I see," he looked down on her with lifeless grey eyes, "Why he's interested in you I fear will forever be a mystery to me." And on that, he just turned around and left. That… that made Imoen angry. She didn't have time to curse him however; some of the soldiers had already made their way back down and were closing in around. She did what thieves do and took to the shadows.

--

"Not staying to watch, Major?" Sorel said.

Aerie had been quickly taken several buildings away, where she had been tied to a chair with a thin rope while Sorel made ready the instruments that she had become far too familiar with.

Next to her was a window, through which she stared out at the stars with tear filled eyes. That was what he wanted, she knew. He wanted to remind her that they were out of her reach, that there was no escaping this nightmare.

"We have only a few men out searching for the other one," the major explained, "I should really be helping."

"As you wish," Sorel said, "I think you simply have no stomach for this sort of thing. Like others, you are perhaps fooled by her appearance. This is not a girl… it is an alien creature. It doesn't think or feel about anything the same way you do."

"With all due respect sir, I wouldn't exactly call you human either."

"How bold of you, Major. While I respect your honesty, perhaps it would be best for you to return to your troops."

"Sir," the Major saluted and wasted no time doing exactly as he had been ordered.

Aerie's head rolled away from the side. She felt no strength left in her body at all, and could only see the room from the top of her eyes. She noted the scalpels and knives; they were mainly to frighten her. For some reason they didn't like her injuries to be visible. He was more likely to use the blunt instruments for breaking her bones and causing her to bleed internally, or electrocute her like he'd obviously done to the bodies they'd encountered earlier. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

Sorel lifted her jaw and forced her to look into his eyes. His lifelessness… contrary to what he'd said, it unnerved her for the same reason it unnerved everybody.

"Tell me something, Aerie," he said, "Your people have a history of warfare, yes?"

She nodded meekly. In the ten thousand years of their history, Avariel had been involved in many wars across the galaxy, and one civil war which wasn't spoken of much now.

"Here on Earth," Sorel continued, "Centuries ago, European Knights would ride into battle wearing shining suits of plate armor. Even long after weapons such as the long bow had made such armor obsolete, conservative Knights refused to change and continued wearing them; most often to their cost of course."

"I-I don't understand…"

"It is I who is trying to understand. Your people are so advanced, yet you cling to bodies that are made of weak flesh?"

"You th-think we should be like you?!" Aerie nearly laughed out loud at that absurd notion. "You… you don't see what you've become? W-when you put your hand into a flame you-you don't feel anything, you… you can't learn from that experience. I f-feel sorry for you."

"Do you really consider yourself in a position to feel sorry for anyone besides yourself?"

"Maybe not," she sniffed, "b-but I do. You've denied yourself any sensation. A-all you can feel now is hate."

"Do not forget, you are responsible for making me this way."

"N-no… th-that's not true. I tried to warn you… the ships power core was t-too unstable…"

"Lies."

"Be-believe what you want. It doesn't matter, does it? Y-you're going to torture me anyway, regardless of the truth."

"I see you have lost the manners that I taught you."

"Heh… I-I just don't care anymore. I won't help you anymore. There's n-nothing you can do to me that will make me change my mind."

"I know," he her head up more and leant in close. Aerie's breathing intensified as she was forced to meet his stare. "I know that there is nothing I can do to you."

Sorel let her go and moved to draw back a curtain across from where she had been positioned. Behind it was a torture table, and bound to it a man dressed like the ones she and Imoen had found earlier. Only this one was alive, although unconscious.

"That is why, every time you refuse to co-operate with me," Sorel explained, "another will be made to suffer in your place." Aerie's jaw just hung open for a moment.

"I… so? I don't know who that man is," she closed her eyes and turned her face away. The tremble in her voice however must have given her away.

"Do none of your people know how to bluff?" He said while he injected the bound man with something that caused him to suddenly be awake. "Now Colonel, there is really no point in struggling."

"You bastard," the Colonel spat, "You'll not get a thing from me."

"I do not want anything from you," Sorel said as he attached wires to the Colonels head while Aerie could only watch.

"B-but he's human!" She cried out suddenly. "H-how can you do it to one of your own?"

"You know that I will," and Sorel never bluffed. As the Colonel turned to look at her, he immediately turned a dial causing the Colonel to scream in agony as electricity ran straight into his brain. Sorel stopped short of killing him, whilst Aerie wept uncontrollably.

"S-stop it!" She cried when he moved to do it again. Sorel froze in the middle of his action.

"You will show everything we ask for? Engines? Weapons?"

"I-it would take years for you to properly understand them," Aerie sobbed. Sorel went back to what he was doing. "Alright! I-I'll… I'll give you anything you want."

Anybody else might have smiled, but not Sorel. Instead he left the Colonel and again looked into Aerie's eyes.

"You should not have tried to fight me," he said, "I will always win."


	12. Chapter 12 Insurrection, Part Four

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #012  
Insurrection, Part Four **

An unearthly silence came upon the soldiers as they swept through the buildings in search of the red head. Even the wind had stopped, insects and other creatures of the night made not a peep, until…

"It's damn quiet," someone whispered and the others immediately hushed him up.

Major Tom Helstone led them, but in an unusual bout of unprofessionalism from the aging soldier his mind wasn't fully on the job. He and the others had been told that their mission was crucial not only for the security of the United States but of the whole world, but the alien they'd captured didn't seem like much of a threat to anyone or anything.

Of course, if you were some hyper intelligent being from another planet and you wanted to send spies and assassins to Earth wouldn't you make your agents appear as harmless as possible? Unless they were so intelligent they knew that that's exactly what we'd expect and try to make their operatives as ordinary looking as possible… and what was with the ears? Most importantly, why, if Aerie had been sent to destroy the human race, why would she have sacrificed herself to help the human girl escape?

On top of that, Sorel seemed to have his own agenda that didn't include saving humanity, at least not in the form it was in now. Revenge seemed to be all he cared about, or maybe he wanted to make everyone else like him? That was a chilling thought too. It may be old, but he rather liked his body. It was still in good shape, and he'd felt and experienced so much with it. A brain encased in metal may indeed be more resilient, but it would deny a man of so much.

The soldier next to him gestured towards a windowless brick building, where it was clear the door had recently been forced open. A few muddy foot prints had been made there recently as well.

"Any other ways out of there?" He asked, and the other soldier shook his head. The major sighed as he realized none of what he'd been thinking about really mattered and what he had to do was inevitable. He'd already betrayed the people he'd sworn allegiance to… at the time he'd thought it was for a greater good. Even if that was no longer the case, he couldn't exactly go back. Hindsight was no use… this was the path he had set himself on.

"Masks on," he ordered, "we'll gas her out."

--

Aerie hung her head and wept. Sorel had left the room, having broke the Avariel without even laying a finger on her. Bound as she was, crying was simply the only thing she could do. Unless… yes, she should save her moisture, so that when he came back she could spit on him.

That thought amused her, for a few seconds. But she recalled from her experience that such acts of defiance were always answered with pain. A while ago it wouldn't have mattered, but she should have known better. Sorel always found ways to control her.

She couldn't help but feel that the Seldarine had made serious errors with her design, and possibly of all the Avariel. After all, if her intended role was as protector then shouldn't they have made her far stronger? More than likely it was just her though. Something must gone wrong with the mother cities genetic program resulting in the pathetic creature she was. She was so pathetic that all she could do in a situation like this was sit here running herself down.

A moan helped bring her out of herself a little. The man Sorel had called Colonel was regaining consciousness. His glazed eyes tried to focus on her, but it was doubtful he could make out much of her features at this time due to the effect of the drugs and torture.

"Who are you?" He slurred.

"I… my name is Aerie," she said hanging her head once more. His life was in no immediate danger so she could get back to feeling hopeless and miserable, which was all she could do after all.

"I'm… Colonel Jack Carter… Air Force. Aerie?"

"T-that's right…"

"I guess your parents must have been hippies or something, right? Don't worry; I was very close to being called Moonbeam or Tree. At least your name sounds nice."

"What's… what's a hippy?"

"Huh? You're kidding, right?"

"No… I-I don't think I am…"

"What, you've lived your whole life in a cave?"

"Well… yes," Aerie admitted. Even when she wasn't held captive and was technically free to go wherever she wanted in the entire galaxy, the other Avariel never allowed it. She had knowledge of races and places, but what was the point if she could never actually see them? The Avariel now lived in constant fear of everyone else, and had forgotten the very reason they existed. They told her of how her people were hunted and of the many evils that lurked in the voids darkest places, stories that the naïve young Aerie never believed. She never believed in creatures that inflicted pain simply because nothing else gave them pleasure. Even now she refused to; after all, everything happening to her was her own fault. It was her who stole the scout ship and came here.

Of course, she'd only intended to fly around a few star systems and return before Faenya Dail jumped away, but then the distress call. She wondered if any of the others ever tried to find her. They would certainly have given up by now if they had and the city ship would be long gone. So the mother computer would have generated her replacement. Aerie wondered what she was like. She wondered if any of them missed her at all.

It needn't be so bad here though, if she would only do what they wanted. Of course, even when she did do what they wanted it seemed it wasn't enough and they demanded more. And then like with Sorel and the ELF project, it all just kept going wrong and people were hurt and even killed.

"Okay… well, I've been kind of out of it, but I think you saved my life somehow. So thanks."

"T-the others… the other soldiers we found… were they…?"

"My team? Where are they?"

"They're… d-dead," Aerie stammered out, unable to find a way to break the news more gently. "I'm so sorry…" Colonel Jack shut his eyes and banged the back of his head on the table, as if causing himself some physical pain would take away some of what he must already be feeling. There was a moments silence from both of them before he spoke again.

"Why is he keeping you here?"

"He w-wants to know what I know…"

"Which is what? All about stalactites?"

"Er, no," Aerie smiled, even though Jack's tone had become less friendly. Considering he'd just been told his friends were all dead though…

"I'm sorry… it's just… damn…"

Something was tugging in Aerie's mind… the fact that the Colonel didn't seem to know anything about her, but seemed to know about Sorel. She only knew a little about Earth's politics through what little she was given or overheard during her captivity. Soldiers from the same nation were killing each other, and a Colonel was a pretty high rank wasn't it? He would surely have information… information that could be important to Imoen, who was still out there somewhere. If there was even the slightest chance that she could still help her, then she had to stop moping and try.

"He w-want's to know… want's to know what I know about… P-project ELF," Aerie lied, which she wasn't good at. Fortunately the Colonel was still 'out of it' enough that he didn't notice.

"It doesn't exist," the Colonel murmured. Aerie feared now that he may have suffered some head trauma. She needed to keep pressing, asking him questions and keeping him awake to help them both.

"You mean… because it's secret…"

"No, I mean it doesn't exist. It did… it… it was a project ran by some sort of government think tank, I think it was called The Grey Cowl or something… and yeah, it was secret… I wasn't even told what exactly it was they were up to. But it was shut down five years ago, for using 'questionable methods'. Hmm… I see what the General meant now… they damn well tortured people! That's not questionable, it's just wrong," the Colonel winced and his head started to slump.

"Stay awake!" Aerie called out suddenly. "You need to stay awake… w-what's Sorel doing? A-and why does he still have all those soldiers with him?"

"It was shut down," the Colonel tried to focus, "but then, a few months ago, Cowlies suddenly reappeared and a number of our guys joined up with them. We don't know whether it's because the Cowl has something on them or some kind of brainwashing… but hell, I'm not naïve enough to think that a lot of them didn't turn their backs on their allegiance just because someone's offered them more money. But we don't know who that someone is, we don't know where they're based from… don't know much about anything. We were supposed to track Sorel, find out who he's working for… guess you can figure out the rest. Probably shouldn't be telling you all this, but I figure if you're a plant then this is stuff Sorel already knows."

"Won't someone be coming to rescue you?"

"We went dark last night… that doesn't mean turning out the lights, cave girl. Complete radio silence, no contact with the outside world at all. We disappeared, or we thought we had. But anyway, no one knows I'm here."

"Imoen would want to know all this," Aerie said. She wished she could find out what was happening…

"Who?"

"My friend… I-I think she's my friend. She tried to help me… but when I tried to help her, I couldn't…" Aerie paused and thought about her situation. She chose to believe that Imoen was still free for now. But Minsc had been disabled. She'd already seen the EMP device Sorel had used. It was only good for one charge unfortunately. Of course to have used it at all she would have to get out of her bindings, which she doubted she could even if dislocated her own thumbs to try and slip free. Oh, and then without any witchy and crystally things she may have to fight her way through Sorel's soldiers.

She tried to pull free anyway. She could see Colonel Jack was losing consciousness again despite her calling out to him. He was going to need to get to a hospital. Imoen had said she couldn't use her communication device in this valley, but maybe Sorel had a means of communicating somewhere…

Unfortunately, no mattered how hard she tried she simply wasn't strong enough and eventually had to give up. That was it then, it was hopeless. She would spend the rest of her life not seeing anything but the inside of a lab. Worse, she could do nothing to help the Colonel or Imoen.

She had just hung her head again when she felt something brushing against and tickling her skin. She tried to twist her head around to see behind her back, and could just make out a small orange and white shape gnawing on the ropes.

Hope was a very good feeling.

--

Now, these guys probably thought they could come in now, after launching their gas canisters, and just find Imoen rolling around and choking. What they hadn't counted on was her having a gas mask of her own. And they'd have been right, she hadn't. What she did have was a very small gill type thing she could just pop in her mouth and would filter out everything but the oxygen she needed to breath. It was an accessory Minsc had made for situations exactly like this. It would clog eventually, but she was good for quite a few minutes yet.

And here they were now, listening out for her coughing and gurgling. Strange thing about the human condition though… they entered the narrow corridor looking from side to side but not one of them thought to look up, which was a real shame because if they had they'd have found exactly what they were looking. Possibly because they were expecting her to be rolling and choking by now, but anyway the corridor was narrow enough for to brace herself between the walls and hang close to the ceiling.

After seeing the little soldiers come in one by one… ten of them, which by her estimation was all there were, she dropped down, went out the door and locked it behind them. It was a good thing they had their gas masks with them.

But apparently, math's wasn't Immy's strongest subject and just as she was congratulating herself on a job well done she received a kick to the face. She managed to roll upon hitting the floor came around to face her attacker, a pretty well built woman. She sized up the diminutive red head, sneered, and threw her gun away.

"You're one of those real hardcore feminist types aren't you?" Imoen stood up. "I mean you have short hair and a full time job so what else could you be?" The red head tried to dodge another kick, but wasn't quick enough and was doubled over by a hit to the belly, followed by an uppercut that lifted her into the air. The woman had to take a few steps to get near her again. She took her time though, clearly having no respect for her opponent's abilities. Imoen tried to kick back when she got near but the shot was easily avoided and then the woman stamped down on her leg.

"Time out!" Immy wailed and made the little T sign. "Listen, sister, what are we proving here? That violence and stupidity come as easy to us as any man? Is that what suffragettes chained themselves to railings for?"

She didn't get any answer, as instead the woman decided to pull the red head to her feet by her hair. Now Imoen had never had any actual martial arts training, but she'd grown up in a home for girls and even gone to a girls school, so she knew how to catfight (u _gh… why'd it have to called a 'cat' fight) _and how to employ moves such a nipple cripple to devastating effect and now did so. The woman squealed like a little girl and backed off, dropping Imoen.

But now, and Imoen honestly hadn't planned this at all, now the woman was standing in position over a pole, which Immy somehow got a hand to and as she stood up she inadvertently lifted it straight up between her opponents legs. And now, although she had no idea how it got there, in Immy's right hand was some kind of brass knuckle. Well it must have belonged to the army woman, so Imoen, being the good girl that she was, tried to give it back. But, in her enthusiasm, she slipped and it connected with the woman's jaw knocking her out cold.

Now that was a series of very unfortunate events.

"I guess you proved your point after all," Imoen panted and let herself fall into a sitting position. Her leg was sore and her belly and her head still ached. She realized if she was going to keep up this adventuring stuff without her sister then she was going to have to learn how to fight properly as sooner or later she was bound to run into someone who wouldn't underestimate her.

It turned out to be sooner. She turned her head and found herself staring up the barrel of a gun with a Major on the other end.

"Ohhh, hello!" She beamed and smiled as sweetly as she good, "Oh, you're muscles are soo big. I'm afraid little ol'me has gone and gotten herself completely lost and I need a big strong man to walk me home."

"Open that door," he demanded.

"That door? The one all your boys went in?"

"Open it."

"Bit of a problem you see… the lock on that door is on a timer and I think it may have been set not to open until eight o'clock tomorrow morning. No chance of opening it before then, but if you want to wait around…" That was a lie of course. Not about the lock being on a timed mechanism, but even so she could have gotten it open at any time she wanted.

"Move," he jabbed her with the gun bidding her to start walking in a certain direction. He'd bought the stuff about the lock though and they were moving away from it.

"Alright… y'know, there's a lot of tension in your voice. I have a friend who teaches yoga. If you want I could show you a position or two…"

"I'm not falling for any tricks girl. Move!"

"Sheez… I was just trying to do you a favor."

"You could have ran you know, stayed hidden. I see you're good at that… so why the hell didn't you?"

"Just… instinct, I guess. Find trouble before it finds me. It's just what adventurers are like."

"Stupid…"

"I liked the way I put it better. But I guess that's easier to say. You don't really want to be doing this do you?"

"I'm following orders."

"Yeah… guess that's easier too."

--

Aerie knew Sorel would return soon. It occurred to her that since the Colonel was now very much out of it, but the other soldiers were still out searching for Imoen, then when he did then for the first time ever she and he would be alone with her unbound and no one to rush in and restrain her when she started getting feisty. She would have what her friend had promised, a fighting chance. Of course, there was the matter that even if she were a foot taller and two hundred pounds heavier, muscle and bone was simply no match for hydraulics and steel.

In her upturned palm sat Boo and she decided to stroke him. She understood that was what humans did with small furry animals and found it was indeed a quite pleasing sensation. She hadn't realized the small furry animals were so clever though. Some of the larger ones, maybe. She'd heard of Lassie… but anyway, she gave Boo a warm smile and put him by safely so that she could search for a weapon.

There was all kinds of junk lying around this place, most of it useless… Sorel's knives only cut flesh… or just too heavy for her to use as a weapon. She did find some kind of dark metal stick, curved and slightly sharpened at one end. Seemed to her that her best chance was to try and get that inside Sorel's skull… she did hope that wouldn't be necessary though. He may have tortured her, but she had never taken a life. Aerie had to brace herself, because she knew that it probably would be necessary, just like it had been necessary with Kalah.

She had to help… had to help protect good people like Imoen from the likes of Sorel. After what he'd done to the Colonel, she knew now for sure that there was no way he would ever cause anyone enough pain to fill whatever hole existed inside him. The odds were against her and the situation was grim, but she saw now that people like him needed to be fought no matter what. You couldn't just hide away forever.

There were also several cupboards filled with jars, before she could examine all of them however her sensitive ears pointed up. Sorel was returning…

He entered his makeshift torture chamber with some computational device rested on his claw. He looked up, saw Colonel Jack still writhing slightly, but Aerie's chair was empty. No shock or even just surprise. Apparently he just found her absence fascinating.

Aerie crept out from behind the door he'd entered, crowbar raised above her head. Imoen had noted during their trip here what a light step she had and how with some practice she'd make an excellent thief. Imoen didn't know that Aerie had already once stolen what was undoubtedly now the most valuable vessel on Earth, even with a broken down hyper drive.

Once in position, she closed her eyes and brought the bar down, feeling the impact as it something hard and made of metal. But then it she couldn't lift it back up, opening them, she saw Sorel had suddenly and had caught her weapon in hand. He swung his arm, sending her rolling away across the room. Then he remained, watching her impassively, as she struggled back to her feet.

"I suppose you're going to throw another one of your tantrums," he sighed, or imitated a sigh anyway.

"I'm not weak," Aerie spat out, "I never have been. It's… it's you that's pathetic. And you won't kill me, because… because you need me far more than I've never needed anyone. I'm the only reason you have for continuing to exist... and that's all you're capable of, existing."

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't stutter!"

"The sooner I get you back inside your cage the better…" he stomped forward. Aerie grabbed the next convenient she could find, a short metal tube, and again swung for his head. There was the clang of metal against metal as his face was knocked to the side, a little.

With surprising speed however, he clasped his hand around her throat, lifted and slammed onto a table. He then rolled up some kind of manual and jammed it into the Avariel's mouth.

"Perhaps you're right," he whispered, "but now, why don't you admit something as well? You enjoy the pain. All the time you're cut off from the world… unable to experience any real sadness or joy. It's only when we're together that we both get what we want… the proof of life."

Aerie tried to tell him how utterly insane he was, but in her present predicament it was very hard to get any sound to come from her throat at all. It was only her struggles subsided that he released the blonde, only to lift the blonde and send her careering into the wall. It was then the Major arrived with Imoen, a disgusted look on his face as he surveyed the scene.

"I know how you must feel," Imoen whispered. She was horrified to see the state Aerie was in, but her best plan for saving them both seemed to be the Major right now. "You've gotten yourself involved in something that's way over your head and don't know how to back out of it. Believe me, I know."

"Shut up," he hissed.

"Well," Sorel appeared to notice them for the first time, "Look at what we have here. I wasn't expecting this to be a double date."

"That's funny," Imoen said, "I almost expected a wink and a smile."

"I wonder if the Major has told you about his family yet. Such beautiful children."

"Hmph… and I suppose it would be a real shame if anything were to happen to them," Imoen sagged… so did the Major. Threatening a guy's family was always the surest to ensure control over them.

"Now you understand the situation, but I'm sure you still have many questions about why all this is happening to you. To be honest I don't understand myself, nor do I care. I have what I want and that's all that matters. I do think I'd like to hear you scream though…"

"N-no…" Aerie rolled onto her back and started to sit up. She was covered in dust and other filth, and terribly battered and bruised.

"Stay down kid," Imoen muttered between her gritted teeth. But Aerie's hearing wasn't that sensitive and she continued upwards until she was standing very unsteadily.

"Y-you… you won't hurt my friend," she said as she swayed slightly.

"Such bravery does deserve to be rewarded," Sorel nodded, "so this time, I'll finish you quick."

He immediately reached for the blonde's head with his claw. Aerie lifted her own arms, smashing something into the claw before allowing herself to fall backwards. Corrosive acid bubbled across the appendage; it seeped between the plates melting the circuits beneath. Sorel slowly turned his hand around, watching it spark and hiss with a slight look of confusion on what little there was of his face. Things became clear however when he looked to Aerie, who had managed to stand up again, and he saw that she had retrieved the bracelet with the crystal on it from the pocket he'd stashed it in. Aerie wasn't a skilled pick pocket by any means, but with his skin of steel there was no way he could feel her hand slip in and out during their struggle.

"Oh, my," he said, as Aerie's arms made a wide circle, building up a terrific blast which launched him out the window. Perhaps not all the way into space, but probably very close.

"I… I've won," Aerie stated as the glass rained down outside. It had taken almost everything she had left however, and she immediately fell on her back again with a thud.

The Major had just watched. Perhaps had he taken a shot it might have distracted Aerie. But perhaps a large part of himself didn't want to. Even if that may be, Imoen jabbed an elbow into his gut and pulled his weapon away. As he fell to his knees, she backed away to where Aerie had fallen.

"Kid?" She prodded. Looking down, she saw that Aerie was still conscious, just about, and was staring out at the stars through her swollen black eyes.

"Col… Colonel Jack needs help," the Avariel said softly.

"What about you?"

"My-my wounds will heal themselves. I… just need to rest a while."

Imoen had seen some sort of satellite transmitter mounted on a vehicle outside that Sorel must have been using. She could call for help, but then the rest of them would have to get out of here right away.

"I'll take care of it," the red head promised, "Is that Sorel's lap top?"

Aerie nodded. It was likely encrypted of course, but Immy could probably still find something. First though, she reached down and gently brushed some of Aerie's hair away from her face as the Avariel closed her eyes.

"Hey, kid," Aerie's eyes flicked back open to see Imoen smiling down on her. "You look like a raccoon." The Avariel smiled, and then fell asleep.

Behind Imoen, the Major had broke into a sweat. He had got out his pistol and kept looking between it and the red heads. He was a traitor to his country, but if they thought he'd been a traitor to them…

The shot rang out, the Majors eyes went wide, and then he slouched onto his side with a soft sigh.

"What the…" Imoen's heart jumped a few beats with the shock.

"I was not expecting to find anyone so… human," Yoshimo said as he stepped from the shadows with a gun in his hand. "I… need time to think on all that has occurred. I warn you… do not go after Irenicus yet. You are still far from ready," and with that, he was just as suddenly gone leaving Imoen still wondering what the hell this was all about.

Seconds later, the Russian burst through the door.

_"MINSC WALKS AGAIN EVIL!" _He mightily roared. _"PREPARE TO MEET _… oh."

"Still having trouble finding the door knobs, are we?" Imoen grinned.


	13. Chapter 13 Life on Earth, Part One

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #013  
Life on Earth, Part One **

Imoen felt very positive this morning. Even though it hadn't actually risen quite yet, she was sure that somewhere out there Mister Sun was smiling down on the world as he bathed us in harmful ultra violet radiation. For Mister Sun who gave us all life was actually very evil; tragically that's what came of having so much power. But none of that was going to get Imoen down today.

For today would be the dawn of a new life. In fact, two new lives.

There was Aerie, who was really seeing our world for the very first time. Previously, all she'd got to see was a little bit of desert some research labs and whatever books or TV were approved for her to view, which apparently mainly consisted of cartoons. Imoen felt it very important that the blonde alien see that there is more to life on Earth than badly drawn characters using crude implements of torture on each other.

The fact was that there was very little chance of Aerie ever being able to return to her home. It was certainly well beyond Imoen's abilities to help her at all with that. But what she could do was show her things that would make being stranded on this primitive little rock bearable. The red head knew that was a momentously difficult challenge, especially if the cartoons hadn't been quite enough. But it was a challenge she welcomed.

Why? Well, Aerie was a nice enough person. Kind, loyal, brave and all that. Perhaps Immy felt that in some small way she needed to try and make up for the barbaric behavior of others of her species. It was a responsibility most humans would shun from, since it meant feeling guilty in some small way and if there was one thing people hated it was being made to feel guilty, especially when they were. But that was not and had never been Imoen. She had, she hoped, always tried to think of others before herself; been kind and felt sympathy for the people who needed it.

The truth however, was that her actions were not entirely unselfish. Thing was, Imoen had come to realize what it was that had been making her so desperately unhappy. All her life someone had been looking out for her, but she had been looking out for them too even if most of the time all she achieved was being in the way. And then that person was gone. Now though, she had a chance to look out for someone who really needed her and this time she was going to do it right. So it was the dawn of a new life for her as well. This would be a new, responsible, but naturally still adorable Imoen.

"Morning Aerie!" The red head chimed. She was sat at one of the consoles and heard the Avariel faintly yawn. She swiveled about to see Aerie lying on the floor (although she'd found the beds were more comfortable, Aerie still found it easier to sleep on the floor), the blondes eyes seemed fixated on her own feet for some reason. "You getting up? There's something I want you to see…"

"I… I-I can't move," Aerie answered quietly.

"What? Why not?"

"Because the ra… Boo… appears to have nested… i-in my hair." It was then Imoen saw that Aerie wasn't staring at her feet but at a small lump of her yellow strands gathered close to her chest and made into a ball.

"BOO!" Minsc stood up and roared. The hamster poked his head out of the improvised bedding and answered 'Squeak?' "This is very rude," the huge Russian scowled disapprovingly, before turning to Aerie and scratching his bald head nervously. "Er… this… this is most embarrassing. It is just that Boo likes you… likes you a lot," he grinned toothily.

"I like Boo a lot too," Aerie gently smiled.

"You do?"

"Of course… h-he saved my life."

"Ah... yes. Well then, this is joyous news indeed! Good that we heroes will all get along… er, Boo?" The hamster squeaked and reluctantly untangled himself, leaving a very bemused Aerie, but at least now she could stand without fear of disturbing any creature. The bruises she'd had when they'd carried her unconscious body from the chemical plant had almost completely vanished after just one night. The Avariel's ability to heal, even recover from injuries that would prove fatal to any human, was something Sorel lauded very often in the diary she'd been reading. It made it easy for him to cover up what he'd been doing when the inspectors called.

"Hey Aerie, what's this?" Imoen grinned and wriggled her finger through the air in front of her, bemusing Aerie further.

"Um… i-it's your finger," she said obediently.

"That's not what you're supposed to say," Imoen slumped back, "I know it's my finger."

"Well, t-then… why did you ask me?"

"We'll be arriving in the city today, so I was telling you a traditional human joke. Gee… they must have humor where you come from?"

"Oh, y-yes, we do," the Avariel nodded emphatically, "Only… w-where I come from, it's traditional for it to be funny," she said biting her own lip to suppress the giggle.

"That's good… you're having fun already," Imoen rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I-it's just… I trust you, Imoen. I feel able to relax in your presence."

"Eh… I hope you don't relax too much. You might do something weird and alien, like the waste comes out of your ears… remind me never to sit next to you in a theater or… ever."

"Hmmm… b-better than it coming out of my mouth, I suppose… like some species I know…"

"Great… I see we really are going to get along!" Immy giggled and put an arm around the slightly smaller woman's shoulders. "Anyway, the finger thing wasn't really what I wanted to show you."

"You… s-seem far more content this morning, ma'am."

"Yeah, I am… I mean, it's been a while since I've had any nightmares. Well… there was the usual one about Scooby Doo getting rabies… but nothing about any bald men or deceased friends going all evil dead on me. So yeah, I feel pretty good this morning."

"That's good… h-has Sorel's computer been of any use to you?"

"Well… I've deciphered some data. Looks like his diary, but I'm still about ten years behind on it. He says lots about you…. Lots of deeply creepy stuff," they both involuntarily shuddered. "Anyway, he's dead now, right? Let's not worry about all that stuff… it's time we both had a break. It'll be the first one you've had in thirty six years," the Avariel nodded affirmatively, "Course; we didn't find any money so we're as poor as rats… no offence Boo."

"Fear not friends, for Minsc has been poor before!" The cyborg sat back in the control chair, which creaked as it could barely support his weight.

"You were poor?"

"Yes… in his youth, back home in Russia, the only things Minsc owned were the clothes on his back and a potato. The harsh winters lasted forever and the shrouded, wailing women would have babies just so they could give their families something to eat."

"That's terrible!" Aerie said, aghast.

"Ah, yes. But the story, it does have a happy end, for one day Minsc met a member of the communist government and traded his potato for an oil refinery in Siberia."

"Right," now Imoen and Aerie were both bemused. No matter how long you knew Minsc, he still had that bemusing effect. "Well… we don't have a potato, I'm afraid," the red head managed to say through her bemusement.

"I-is there not some way we can receive monetary remuneration i-in exchange for helping people?" Aerie offered.

"Could be… I can't say for sure until I find a dictionary. Don't worry about it anyway… I'll think of something. Now, Aerie… kid. Let's go outside."

"O-outside?" Aerie gasped. She glanced to and fro as if searching for an escape route. Unfortunately the only escape routes led outside.

"Yeah… outside. Don't worry, there's no one around so it's safe… mostly. Anyway, you said you trusted me, right?"

"Y-yes," the blonde swallowed her fear and followed Imoen through the sliding door to the outside, where she saw daylight for the first time in a few decades.

Spring was approaching, but at this time the morning sun still cast the sharp light of winter over the surrounding trees and fields and glittered on the small stream nearby. Although not strong yet, it still evaporated all that was left of Aerie's trepidation and her eyes glanced to and fro in wide eyed wonderment.

"Grass!" She exclaimed, falling to her knees and enthusiastically running her fingers through and gathering up the stuff, "I didn't realize how green it can be…"

"Oh, yeah, we've got lots of that here," Imoen beamed.

"It's amazing… t-there's nothing else like it in the entire galaxy!"

"Wow… I guess we really take the stuff for granted."

"Be… being a prisoner as long as I have, I-I don't think I'll ever take anything for granted. The universe is so… big, b-but every world in it is unique and… s-special in some way. It took hundreds of millions of years for all this to evolve… and if the smallest thing had been different… l-like some ancient insect decided to go somewhere else for lunch then the entire surface we stand on now wouldn't be the same. S-so you see you shouldn't take anything you have for granted… What's that?" Aerie leapt up and ran a short distance.

Imoen wondered if maybe showing her all this at once was a bit too much and if it hadn't caused some kind of sensory overload. Maybe she should have broken the Avariel in more gently… you know, started just by showing her a few blades of grass, then a potted plant and gradually worked her way up to an entire garden and so on.

"What's what?" she asked when she caught up with the alien girl. The girl was pointing at a field in the far distance. "I can't see what you're pointing at."

"It's… a large four legged animal… th-there's a few of them. They… they're eating the grass," Aerie noted a touch unhappily. Imoen could just about make out some dots.

"Probably cows," the red head shrugged. "Cows say 'moo'. That's an important fact. Every human learns it even if they never set foot on a farm in their entire lives. But what I really brought you out here to see is the other way."

The two faced the horizon in the opposite direction. There in all it's… splendor, for want of a better word, not-quite-sparkled the brick and stone skyscrapers that made up the skyline of Baldur's Gate. There actually weren't that many tall buildings in the city and what there were where clustered almost at the exact center with everything else sprawling outwards from them down to the ocean. It was one of the oldest cities in America, which while nothing compared to the likes of London or Rome, meant it was just old enough for everything to have that lived in feel you get from buildings that have had to be retro-fitted several times to keep up with changes in technology and society, such as the invention of electricity and the passing of laws intended to create standards of health and safety in the workplace.

"Baldur's Gate… my home town," Imoen did that side ways wave people do when they want to show off something grand.

"It's wondrous," Aerie whispered. Immy could swear there were almost tears welling up in the blonde's eyes at this point.

"Well, now we've both had genuinely new experiences today."

"We… we have?"

"Yup. Most people are only happy to see the city in the distance like this when they're leaving it."

"But… you live there, so… i-it can't be that bad…"

"I gotta share it with about two million other people. They're not all as wonderful as I am."

"T-tw-two million?" Aerie gasped. The Avariel's stance suddenly went all panicky again.

"Yeah… it's not a particularly large city."

"I can't even imagine that many…" she said, backing away from the sprawling monster.

"Sheez… it's not like you'll have to share a bathroom with all of them," Imoen sighed, "Look kid, I know it's a big change for you. An astronomically huge change, and it's going to take long time to adjust. But the important thing is not to panic… I'll be there to help every step of the way."

"I… I'll try my best not to let you down," Aerie said, straightening up.

"Great, now lets… woe…" The sun suddenly hit them at full strength and Imoen had to shield her eyes.

"Is something wrong ma'am?"

"Oh… nothing. I just… didn't realize how white you were."

"Oh… is-is that a problem?"

"Not so long as you avoid standing in direct sunlight."

"Hmmm… can I ask, w-why is the city called Baldur's Gate?"

"Well, it's named after the original Viking settlement that was found there," Imoen was impressed that she knew that factoid. No one, including her self, believed she ever really paid attention in school. "Strange thing is though… they found the settlement but no-ones ever found any settlers. Not even a note to say they were out… weird huh?"

"Well… i-it was my understanding that Vikings didn't write anything… anyway…"

"Really? You read that in a book did you… well I guess it will forever be a mystery then…"

"Er… m-ma'am…"

"It's not the only mystery around here though. Every night people see a bright light in the sky close to the ocean… right about where the lighthouse is. Now that's very strange…" Imoen felt Aerie tug on her arm, and when she looked she found that they were not alone. It was an elderly man, but in pretty good shape. Probably someone who worked one of the nearby farms. He was leaning against a post watching the two women, with a flask full of coffee and a newspaper by his side.

"Some vehicle you got there," he nodded to Dynaheir, Minsc's heavily armored truck sized little car.

"Isn't it?" Imoen smiled widely. "We've driven it here from Hollywood. We're making a new science fiction movie near here."

"Really? And who's she?" He nodded to the blonde with the large eyes and pointy ears.

"This… is our leading lady. We were just doing a make up test… good isn't it?"

"Um… h-hello," Aerie shuffled furtively.

"I've never seen her in anything," he spat.

"Probably just don't recognize her because of the make up," Imoen was becoming annoyed now; especially as she realized she was up against that rare and most dangerous of creatures. An intelligent farmer.

"She don't act much like any Hollywood actress I know…"

"And how many Hollywood actresses do you actually know?" Imoen threw her hands up in frustration. "As it happens, a lot of them are very shy, nervous people with low self esteem. That's why they become actors… so they can escape from themselves and pretend to be someone else for a while."

"So what's this movie about?"

"You'll like it… it's about a simple farmer who asks too many questions and gets assassinated by a very attractive red head."

"Not a comedy then?"

"No," Imoen sighed, "Aerie, go inside. I'll, er, be there in a moment to take off the prosthetics. Look," the red head said to the farmer, "are you done with the newspaper? I kind of need to catch up with what's been happening."

"You gonna pay for it?"

"What?"

"I figure with you all being such successful people from Hollywood you can afford to pay for a newspaper."

"Course," Imoen forced herself to grin, "it's only money…"

Moments later, Imoen boarded Dynaheir ten per cent poorer than she was before. Minsc was plugged into the cigarette lighter recharging and Aerie had found a small mirror and was examining her ears.

"I'll just see what's happening in the world," the red head lay back on the bunk and started to read. "Microsoft has declared war on Norway… Oh look, a feel good article about cats stuck up trees and not being rescued. And that phony philanthropist Nalia De'Arnise is suing an old lady she ran over yesterday for scratching her car… nothing new really."

"Phony philanthropist?" Aerie raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… she always makes sure she's seen doing stuff for charity."

"But why phony?"

"Because she only does it to raise her profile, not because she really cares about poor, homeless people like us."

"D-do you know her?"

"Well, I've never met her or anything…"

"So… how can you be sure that she doesn't really care?"

"You defending her? It was the company her family owns that kept you locked up on that island."

"I-I'm afraid I don't know enough about how these companies work," Aerie conceded. "D-do you think she would have known?"

"Well, I guess probably not. It's her father who actually runs the business… but she's still a spoilt bitch. And what are you doing with that mirror?"

"Oh, I… I-I need to memorize my facial features so that I can… w-well… I'll show you," Aerie's covered the crystal that shone in her hands. Seconds later, the energy flowed into her body and began to alter her. The change was only small really… the points of her ears became small and round and her eyes shrunk a little and lost some of their slant. When it was done however, she looked like a perfectly normal albeit very pretty young human woman. "D-did it work?"

"You look good, kid," Imoen smiled.

"T-thank you… I based my ears on yours."

"Well that's… flattering, I guess…"

"Hmmm… Do you think the eyes are still a bit too big?"

"They'll do… so long as you can pass for human not every detail has to be perfect. If you ask me, you're still just a bit too thin though."

"I'm afraid I can't alter my body very much… and m-my captors only fed me enough to keep me alive."

"That's the first thing we'll do when we arrive then… get you a sandwich the size of a cow. The second thing I think you should do is get a hair cut."

"Yes…"

"You can borrow some of my clothes… they should all fit you as well. Oh, and the final thing… we probably shouldn't call you 'Aerie' when we're outside and other people are around. Just because the military doesn't approve of torture anymore it doesn't mean they wouldn't still lock you up in a lab if they find you. So you should have a new name for your new life…"

"Arthur!" Minsc woke up suddenly.

"Er… what?!"

"Arthur is a good name."

"Arthur's a boy's name… Aerie is definitely a girl."

"But Minsc once kissed a woman named Arthur!"

"It was a drag act, okay? Please just be quiet for a minute…"

"What about Bob?"

"No! Just… right, I think she looks like a Laura. Is that okay?"

"There was a lab assistant named Laura," Aerie nodded, "she was quite kind to me, really."

"You can always change it later anyway… but for now it's settled. Minsc, meet our new companion, Laura."

"Ah… another hero! Let us rejoice!"

"Later… for now take us into the city."

"Ah, yes, but… what about little Aerie?"

"What?"

"We cannot leave little Aerie alone up here!"

"Er… Laura is Aerie…"

"Minsc fears you have taken one too many blows to the cranium. Aerie has the big eyes and the pointy ears."

"Right," Imoen sighed resignedly, the positive feeling she'd started the day with having been driven away within an hour. "'_Laura_', you'd better sit down. It doesn't look like we'll be making it to the city today after all… I hate you so much Minsc…"


	14. Chapter 14 Life on Earth, Part Two

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #014**

**Life on Earth, Part Two**

The next day, and they had eventually managed to explain things to Minsc. She'd told him that Aerie was still Aerie but she was pretending to be Laura, like people on TV pretend to somebody else. That confused Minsc more, since he had no idea his favorite soap stars were all played by actors. But eventually Boo explained it and they were able to move on.

It was better to travel under the cover of darkness anyway. Numerous caves lined the coast north of the city, and they managed to find one big enough to conceal Dynaheir. Leaving Minsc there to perform minor repairs, Imoen and Aerie set off for the city. Since it was Aerie's first time anywhere, Imoen pointed out the sites of interest. The first they came across on the outskirts of town was an old stone building enclosed by a high stone wall. Sculptures either side of the entrance depicted lit candles.

"Candlekeep… the orphanage I grew up in," Imoen pointed. Aerie's ears had picked up the rumble of high pitched laughing and chatter and running around some time ago, although she was puzzled about it was but felt assured since it didn't worry Imoen. She had never heard children playing before, and certainly not so many all in one place.

It almost brought a genuine smile to the Avariel's face, so many people enjoying their freedom. And yet, they were all contained behind this big wall… but she sure the intention couldn't be to contain them. But then, the only other purpose a wall like this could serve was protection. Wild animal's maybe… but then most of the surrounding area was domesticated farmland, and there were more than enough adult humans around to deal with any creature that strayed. Human children surely wouldn't need to be protected from other humans? She remembered years ago, when she'd come across a boy in the desert who was being chased, although she hadn't really understood what was happening then and had never been able to find out… but while she silently pondered the meaning of the wall, Imoen continued her tour.

"Used to be a tree on the other side of that wall. I could climb up it and escape sometimes, but they cut it down after a while. And just there is where the other girls would pin me down and put honey in my hair… happy days. I think that's where Sister Margaret had her nervous breakdown…"

"You don't want to look inside?" Aerie asked. Truthfully, she wanted to learn more about how human's learn and how they take care of their children… but she supposed there would plenty of time for that, if Imoen was in a hurry.

"Nah… wouldn't want her to have another one. Besides, very few people there who'd remember me now."

Aerie nodded and took one last look back at the gates of the orphanage.

"You… you never found out about your parents?" She asked. Avariel didn't really have parents, but most humans she'd talked to seemed to regard their families as very important.

"Hmm?" Imoen looked back. Considering where they were, Aerie's question wasn't that surprising. "No… someone just brought me in one day, when I was baby then they left. No one knows who they were. And me… well, why would I wanna know about people who obviously didn't wanna know about me? So, I don't worry about it. Now there's a lot more to see…"

They carried on, but a few paces behind Imoen, Aerie started to frown. Something about what Imoen had said seemed wrong, perhaps the way she'd said it… in any case, she had what she believed was called a 'gut feeling', that Imoen was trying to convince herself that she didn't care at all where she came from. The Avariel also remembered how the Rauko had looked at her new master…

'_What are you?' _it had said. It must have seen something in the energy surrounding her that was very different from other humans. But if Imoen didn't want to discuss these things then there was nothing the Avariel could do.

As they moved into the city they started to encounter more and more people, and the rumbling grew louder as the pair approached the epicenter. But it was not laughter and playing this time… Aerie noted that the sound of laughter had stopped almost entirely. This was the loud murmur of two million voices speaking at once; the tooting of horns and the growl of primitive combustion engine vehicles… there seemed to be at least as many of them as there were people. Like the people they came in all shapes and sizes… but they were just machines, totally apathetic to the world they existed in.

Aerie found herself drawing a little closer to Imoen, not wanting to take any chance of the red head getting out of her sight. But she continually found her eyes drawn to some of the other sights', and had to snap them back to make sure she hadn't lost her friend. She had no idea how she'd cope if she found herself lost here by herself… the noise was deafening, and none of the people she saw seemed very friendly. They had a purposeful but severe look to them, like they wanted to get somewhere and didn't have time for anyone to get in their way.

Many of them though did look extraordinary to Aerie. She saw a very tall dark skinned woman with colorful beads in her hair… her dress wasn't really anything of the sort, but it showed off a very well toned and muscled body. She had a confidence about her, which was probably well earned. She certainly made Aerie feel woefully inadequate.

Then she saw a man with a long reddish beard, purple robes and wearing all kinds of odd looking jewelry. He was actually one of the few people who didn't snarl when she passed… instead he raised his hand at her, making a 'V' with his fingers and said 'Peace sister'. Aerie thought to return the gesture although she had no idea what it meant, but Imoen seemed to be in a hurry herself and he was gone.

By now they were near the center of the city. On the crowded streets they started to see shops with colorful banners advertising their wares. In the window of one she saw Chiktikka Fastpaws, or a fluffy representation of him anyway. Aerie wanted to stop and look at more, but Imoen pressed on.

Above the streets also was an extraordinary sight, as they were now surrounded by towers so high they nearly touched the sky. Some were taller even than the towers of War and Wisdom on Faenya Dail.

The Avariel sighed… there were so many wonderful things here, and yet she felt that she was the only one who appreciated them. She continued looking. Walking towards them now was a woman with a ring through her nose and makeup that made her eyes look sunken. Her head was bald, except for a green spike in the middle. It wasn't a look Aerie wanted to imitate, but still it was extraordinary…

"Hey," Aerie's heart jumped suddenly. It was just Imoen placing a hand on her shoulder, but the Avariel had momentarily become lost in her own thoughts. "Don't stare," the red head said, "it'll get us into trouble. Well… it'll get you into trouble and me because I'm the only one who knows that all this is new to you so I'm kind of responsible for you."

"Um… s-sorry…" the blonde flushed and lowered her head, although she didn't quite understand what harm looking at something could do. Anyway, the green haired woman walked by without incident.

"You got change?" It took Aerie a moment to realize that the raspy male voice had been addressing her. He was sat on a rag on the pavement beside her, with a filthy graying beard and patchy clothes, which probably were once green; she couldn't be sure. He was holding out a similarly grimy cap.

"I… I don't have any money. I'm sorry…"

"Hey Bill!" Imoen grinned. "Laura, this is old Bill. He's sort of a fixture around here," the old man responded to her greeting by turning away and spitting on the pavement. "See, people like to come by here sometimes and drop a quarter in Bills cap… convince themselves they've done some good. Only, their charity doesn't help make Bills life better, does it Bill? Soon as he's collected enough he'll spend it all in this very store that he practically lives in front of."

"W-why this store?" Aerie asked.

"Cheapest damn beer in town," Bill grinned and took a swig from the bottle he currently had.

"Oh… this man, has an addiction?" Really it more of an observation… Aerie could probably smell the alcohol from across the street, despite the cacophony of other smells there were.

"I can quit any time!" The old man protested.

"That's what you told your wife, wasn't it Bill?" Imoen said. She seemed to be mocking him, but her tone remained friendly. "That was fifteen years ago."

"Never liked the old witch anyway," he snorted. "I let her keep the house because it was a dump…and don't get me started on them kids…"

"Yeah, old Bill is lots of fun," Imoen smiled persistently, "he can be useful though, because he hears things, don't you Bill? Maybe like, about Mason's gang?"

"Don't know anything," he shrugged.

"I'll buy you a drink," Imoen held out a dollar bill, for Bill. Although she herself had stated many times that she was broke, it transpired that Minsc had kept quite a bit of money stored away. Bill snatched the bill.

"He wants you dead. Put a bounty on your head for twenty thousand dollars."

"Thanks Bill," Imoen's smile never faded, until she had rotated her body away from the drunk. Then she looked very worried.

"There are people who wish to do you harm?" Aerie asked, also very worried. She couldn't let any harm come to Imoen.

"What? Oh… it's nothing. Just a silly misunderstanding… I'll get it cleared up in no time. True, we did fire missiles at them, but… no, it's no problem. Anyway, Laura, welcome to the USA," Imoen swept her arms around the shopping precinct. "A country composed of fifty states; all united by one goal… truth, justice and cash."

"Forty six," Bill called out. Apparently, he knew things because he was a very good listener.

"What?"

"There are actually only forty six actual states… Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are officially commonwealths. Virginia was the first to declare itself so in seventeen seventy six… no longer a royal colony but a state governed by the common consent of the people and the others all did likewise after…"

"You're not getting paid for that, so why don't you be quiet?"

"Suit yourself… old Bill just thought you'd like to get your facts straight. So, you're not from round here girlie?" He said to Aerie.

"N-no."

"Yeah… you got the look of someone who don't belong. Probably Canadian or British… bah!" Bill seemed to lose interest in Aerie and resumed spitting on the pavement.

"He's probably right though," Immy shrugged, "he does have a doctorate in history after all."

"He's a doctor?" Aerie was surprised.

"Sad isn't it? But that's what drink does to you I guess… well, you don't have to worry, not for yourself anyway. Here look… we're slap bang right in the middle of the city. You see that?"

Aerie nodded. There was really no missing the object Imoen pointed it. It was the largest building around… a massive construct of glass, steel and concrete that towered over everything else.

"De'Arnise Industries international headquarters," the red head explained, "the family lives way up there at the top, looking down on all us little folks."

Aerie said nothing, but there was denying it was awesome spectacle. If they could build that, then it was no surprise at all that they could snatch her away from under the noses of their own government. In this world, wealth clearly made one powerful.

Imoen led her onwards, to the train station. Apparently there was a man near there she could talk to about purchasing a primitive combustion engine vehicle for not very much money. They found the man outside the station itself, waiting for his cousin. They soon got into some very heated negotiation.

The Avariel decided to take in more of her surroundings. The rumbling wasn't so bad, once you got used to it. The city was certainly a very lively place… she supposed she could get used to that as well, in time. It was then she saw another sight that mad her sad… a woman just came out of the station, and cursed when she saw that she had to negotiate a lot of steps with a lot luggage and a very tiny human in a pram.

Aerie stared in wonder at the baby… so tiny and vulnerable, and yet one day it could grow up twice as big as her. Perhaps to humans such things seemed mundane and ordinary, but few Avariel these days would ever get to see the miracle of life evolving naturally, the life they had once existed to serve. But she then turned her attention back to the mother's predicament; she was foolishly attempting to push the pram down the steps whilst holding on to all her luggage. What was disturbing though, was how many people passed her by, paying her no heed despite the obvious danger. Aerie turned to suggest to Imoen that they should help, but the negotiation had gotten even hotter. It fell to the blonde then, but before she'd taken a step the handle slipped from the woman's grasp…

Aerie gasped… the woman cried out as the pram sped away from her and others only slowly turned to see what was happening. By then it was too late for them to help. The wheels bounced on the steps, and then a second time. The third time, it soared high into the air. The Avariel's heart beat faster and faster… no time to think. Her bracelet started to glow as she imagined herself reaching out and catching it…

The pram stopped. In mid air. Onlookers, including the mother, watched in shocked silence as it lowered itself to ground. A few took pictures of it. It was only after it had touched down that the mother rushed forward to check on her baby. She had tears in her eyes when she held the child close to her bosom, although the child itself giggled happily, unaware that anything had happened. Others instantly began to speculate.

"It's a miracle!" One man fell to his needs, "God sent one of his angels to keep the child safe…" but not everyone was convinced.

"So why doesn't God send his angels for every other kid who falls?" Said another, "Nah… there's gotta be a scientific explanation. Like a freak atmospheric occurrence… Eddie's or something…"

"Uh-huh… right, so by some billion to one chance this child was saved by an atmospheric anomaly that has never before been seen. Right. That's very likely."

"Well… it's more likely than some invisible winged creature swooping down and catching it. You're so ignorant."

"No, you're ignorant! And when you're standing before the almighty you'll be sorry too…"

"Right… give me some proof it was an angel then. You can't can you?"

"You can't disprove it! And you certainly can't prove your Eddie nonsense either…"

"Right… so you wanna fight about it?"

"I have God on my side. You won't have a chance."

"Don't have the guts to go one on one, huh?"

But as science and religion were about to engage in a bout of twelve three minute rounds, the mother of the child had no interest in which was right and was presently only thankful that her child was safe. Her tear stained face looked back up the steps, before her eyes met those of the Avariel's.

Aerie stepped back, surprised. She thought for a second that the woman had smiled and nodded at her, but why would she do that? She couldn't possibly know it was her… Besides, she hadn't done anything that any being with a conduit to another dimension couldn't do.

"Hey kid," Aerie jumped again, but again it was only Imoen. "Why you so nervous? You haven't done anything have you?"

"No… o-of course not."

"Good. Well, I've got us some wheels, so let's go."

The 'wheels' Imoen referred to turned out to be a small, two doored, sandy colored automobile. Aerie assumed it was sandy and it wasn't just that that's what it was covered in. As soon as Imoen turned the key and the engine exploded, luckily not quite literally, to life, a cloud of black smog blocked their sight in the rear view mirror.

"Still, it's not bad for one hundred dollars… and look, we've got a radio," the red head turned a dial. Only static at first, but after much twisting she managed to get voices. "Back Ground Noise," she said.

"_This is BGN – Baldur's Gate News_," the man on the radio said. But Imoen was right. Shortly after she'd pulled out of the lot, neither of them was really, although being able to hear the man's voice was somehow reassuring. A least, they weren't listening, until:

"_Now, following on from the report earlier that significant numbers of the US military are, well, for want of a better word, defecting, but no one knows to where. At first we thought it was just an unsubstantiated rumor but it seems to have been confirmed, and I have to tell you that all branches of the military have been affected… army, navy and air force._

_President Michaels has recently issued the following statement to all press agencies. I'm, er, not sure how I should read this out, but… ahem… it says, 'There may be trouble ahead, but while there's moonlight and music, and love and romance…"_

--

"… _Let's face the music, and dance!_" President David Michaels, the youngest President ever elected into office, or so he was told, grabbed his secretary and they twirled through the doors into his office. That was of course, the Oval Office. Who ever would have thought that an ordinary, if slightly insane, farm boy would one day be the most powerful man on the planet.

"_Before the peddlers have fled…_" he went on with the song, all the way across the room until he was finally sat in the chair and sent the secretary away with a slap to the tush.

"Mister President," a stern looking military man said. He was surrounded by all the usual very important people. "If I can be serious for one moment…"

The President blew a raspberry at him.

"_If I can be serious for a moment!_" The general demanded, his face turning red. While he, and many others in the room, couldn't be happy with the notion that the most powerful man may well be mad, the truth was that despite his eccentricity Michaels had so far proven a very competent President with regard to policies.

"Yes, let's be serious general," The President assumed a very officious position, leaning over the desk with his fingers joined. "This country," he began, "faces a threat like no other in its history… and yet none of you actually know what that threat is or where it comes from. So, you see this… this is my angry face… I'm very angry right now."

"I'm so sorry!" An elderly woman hung head and looked about to break into tears.

"That's okay, Secretary for Education… I don't think you're actually supposed to be in this meeting. Anyway, it's the head of the CIA I'm mad at… it's his job to know… things. And I'm mad at the Attorney General, but that's just because he looks like one of the Nazi villains from the first Indiana Jones film…"

"_Ahem,"_ the head of the CIA took off his glasses, "as it happens, sir, there has been some progress."

"Oh, good."

"Yes sir," the general butted in. "Some time ago, we sent a black ops team to follow a group we suspected were affiliated with this new organization. Unfortunately, they were all identified and eliminated."

"This doesn't sound like progress…"

"No sir… but we believed they were all dead. Until, a few nights ago, we received word that one of team, A Colonel Carter, had survived but was incapacitated and in need of urgent medial assistance…"

"Wait… if the colonel was incapacitated then who sent word?"

"That we don't know. The Colonel himself had been heavily drugged and tortured… but, he does remember having a conversation with a fellow prisoner named Aerie."

"Oh good. Aerie. And who the hell is that?"

"Sir," the head of the CIA again, "Aerie was the name given to a specimen we had in our possession some ten years ago."

"But you just said it was a gi… just what kind of specimen?"

"An extra terrestrial, sir."

"An alien… _had_… ten years ago?"

"She was stolen sir, along with several other artifacts. We had believed she was dead."

"And what makes you sure it's her now? It could just be some hippy chick…"

"We don't think so sir… you see, Doctor Sorel was in charge of the operation to research the alien technology."

"I see… and where does this leave us? Is the threat we face extra terrestrial in origin?"

"That's a possibility sir."

"A possibility…"

"It's unlikely that she herself is involved with the Cowl. But it could be that another alien thought this one could be a threat and wanted it removed… but you see, these Avariel have the entire library of their people downloaded into their brains when their born. Most of the stuff in there was well beyond the understanding of our best guys, but she could still be immensely valuable to anyone."

"So all we have is more speculation. We don't know anything new… or indeed, anything at all. Except that may be at least one creature from another planet running around our planet and we can't be sure what its intentions are."

"She's not actually from a planet, sir… she's from a city ship…"

"Well… that's okay then isn't it," the President finished sarcastically. He sat back, furrowing his brow in concentration. "Gentleman," he said at last, "I have to say I am appalled but what a lousy job you're all doing. That's why I'm taking you all off the case. You can all return to your other duties."

"You can't do that, Mister President."

"Can't I? Well, that's a shame. Because I've already appointed the man who'll be taking your place… come in please," The President spoke into the com. When the door opened and the new man in charge of operation and the man in charge of Operation Find Our Who The Hell Is Taking Our Troops, the room collectively gasped, not in awe, but in disgust.

"You cannot be serious Mister President!" The Secretary of Defence was almost physically sick. "This man is guilty of treason…"

"_This man_, has contacts all over the underworld," Michaels explained, "The underworld all over the world in fact. Not to mention that unlike other people I know _this_ man has a history of getting results. This, gentlemen, is the man who is going to save our country."

Aran Linvail took a bow.


	15. Chapter 15 Life on Earth, Part Three

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #015**

**Life on Earth, Part Three**

"Shhhhhhhh… be vewy vewy quiet," Imoen instructed, drawing a nonplussed gaze from Aerie who wondered why she had to say it in that voice, but she complied nonetheless.

This was what Imoen had needed a vehicle for; she had driven them into a poorer district where there were no shops and the streets were not so well maintained and packs of dogs roamed freely – Aerie knew about dogs, since De'Arnise Industries used to kill hundreds of them every day while researching a new eyeliner or some such, until she'd shown them that they could get exactly the same results using a computer simulation she had written. Presumably though, this was where all the dogs had come from. It was also where Imoen had her apartment which they were in front of now. It turned out they had already seen both of the sights.

"Missers Ratchet always has a nap in the afternoon," the red head explained as she turned the lock, "That gives us a short window to get in, grab all my stuff and get out again… but be alert, okay?"

"Because of Missers Ratchet," Aerie nodded her understanding.

"Exactly."

"A-and because there's a man named Mason who wants to kill you and it would make sense for him therefore to have someone watching the place where you live."

"Yeah, that… that too. Look, coming back here is probably not a sane thing to do, but… it's my stuff, damnit… it may not be much but there's memories and things up there."

"I… I think I understand," Aerie looked pensively at her bracelet. The crystal had been strained a lot recently, what with Kalah and Sorel and her own exploits earlier; she probably shouldn't use it again unless she really had to, at least not for a while. But Imoen seemed intent on hurtling into one life threatening crisis after another and it wasn't her place to question it.

She was Avariel after all, a race created with a mission to guard the galaxy. They had always served someone, whether it be the Seldarine or whoever else needed their assistance. In the present day, on board the city ships, they managed to get by through always being there to give each other things to do… but it was expected that an Avariel separated from her people would seek a new master to serve. She wondered briefly whether she had chosen wisely – but however reckless she was, Aerie was sure Imoen's intentions where good.

And so, she obediently accompanied Imoen up two flights of stairs to her apartment, which consisted of a small bathroom and a larger room which served as everything else, but clearly wasn't large enough to contain everything in an orderly manner.

"Great… she hasn't chucked it all out yet," Imoen mumbled, "Hey, grab a box and just get as much into it as you can," the red head pointed to some card containers piled in one corner. Naturally Aerie did as she was bidden.

"What's this contraption?" The blonde asked as she removed clothing from where it had been thrown over some metal frame.

"It's an exercise bike," Imoen explained, "You know, in this day and age you've got to work to stay in perfect shape."

"It – it doesn't look like it's used much…."

"What are talking about? Of course I use it," Imoen responded as if she'd been accused of something, "Sometimes… once a month… well, two months. Maybe. Anyway, it's hard to cycle and concentrate on what's on TV at the same time. I think we can leave that."

"Yes… a-and this?" Aerie held up a hollow wooden thing with strings across it and whose shape reminded her of some of the women she'd seen on posters outside.

"That was Garrick's guitar. He gave it to Diana, and when she died most of her stuff got given to me."

"But he was your friend too?"

"I guess… he never really paid much attention to me though. No one did when she was around. But I never really minded because I'd just accepted that was the way it was always going to be. They built a stature of her somewhere, and someone wrote a book about her life. I think I got mentioned once on page twenty two. But what the hell… I was never in it for the fame, or the money, or the adoration of most the men and quite a few of the women on the planet… doing good is its own reward right?" The red head said as she crashed onto the bed in her two room apartment which smelt faintly of turnip.

"Er… r-right," Aerie stuttered. The only thing she knew for sure was that this was a very strange world and people. Perhaps not as strange as the Suicide Toads of Limbus III which exploded whenever they got scared, but strange enough. It seemed like humans had the capacity to do great good, but often couldn't be bothered because there were other demands on their time and the rewards of good weren't apparent. Not just a warm fuzzy feeling, but little things like having a society where people actually got along with each other and were happy. "Is-is this her?" She said after a moment, pointing to a picture on top of some draws.

"Yup… that's the spotlight hogging bovine. Gorgeous ain't she?"

"Probably… I guess," Aerie looked closely at the picture. She obviously couldn't judge what humans found attractive in females. Diana really looked a lot like Imoen, except that she was taller and the curves in her body were far more noticeable, especially on the torso. Looking at the picture again made Laura feel a bit inadequate with her shorter and flatter frame, but Aerie didn't know why she should feel that way.

"Seriously, you'd have like her. Everyone did… I mean, she had charisma which attracted people to her, but she didn't abuse it like a high school cheerleader does… sorry, you have no idea what I'm talking about do you? What I mean is she was actually nice to everyone and treated them all fairly."

"Yes… I-I'm sure that she did," Aerie said and put the picture in her box. But, she actually wasn't so sure of that at all… she had another gut feeling, although she couldn't explain it… she just felt that if Imoen had been treated fairly then she wouldn't be where she was now. That Diana would have made sure people didn't just ignore Imoen whereas it seemed… although it was just an impression of course… that she actually took Imoen for granted right up until the end. Anyway, based on appearances she still liked Imoen more.

"What about you?" Imoen asked. "I mean, I don't how it works for your people. Do you have anything like a family? Friends?"

"All Avariel are created from the same gene pattern," Aerie said after considering for just a moment, "So I guess we're all sisters in a way."

"Big family… good thing you don't have weddings then. But there must have been some that you felt close to?"

"I suppose… F-fayanna, my teacher…" Aerie remembered the older Avariel. The young ELF often questioned the Avariel's isolationism and how it went against their mission… the older one countered that the galaxy had changed and they weren't needed anymore and that their interference could cause more harm than good. They would often debate for many hours… until Aerie decided she wanted to see for herself what the galaxy was like and stole a ship that was docked for repairs…

"Teacher?"

"Yes… l-like I said before, Avariel emerge from our pods fully grown but we're still very childlike at first due to lacking experience… for the first nine years we have a tutor who accompanies us everywhere. Fayanna was a strong warrior and a wise teacher… exactly what every Avariel aspires to be," Aerie wondered what her old teacher was doing now. Whether she had mourned her student's loss… perhaps she'd tried to find her but met with the same fate, or worse… but that wasn't likely. Fayanna was far more experienced than she had been and would have approached this world more cautiously, scouted the terrain before landing her ship. No, more likely she had moved on and was teaching another new Avariel. "W-what about this thing?" Aerie asked, wanting to change the subject. It was likely she would never know what happened so there was no point in dwelling on it.

"Ahh… a clockwork clock. That was given to me by Puffguts when I left to go adventuring. Definitely throw that in."

"Clockwork?" Aerie listened to the ticking. "You mean it's all powered by gears and springs… no electricity…"

"Er, well no… you just wind it up."

"Amazing," she held the object reverently. Sure, it's functions where likely very limited, but it showed just how ingenious humans where, since they weren't born with millennia's worth of scientific knowledge. They'd had to evolve and learn it all themselves. This was exactly the sort of wonderful thing other Avariel missed out on… an actual clockwork clock. None in Faenya Dail could even conceive of such a thing. "But, I-I think the hands must be stuck."

"No… I've been gone a few weeks. I've told you, you've got to wind it up…"

"But I can hear it ticking," holding it closer, Aerie soon realized that it wasn't the clock she heard ticking. The two of them went quiet for a moment.

"I don't hear anything," Imoen said at last.

"I think… that it's coming from under the bed."

"Right," another moment of silence and this time Imoen seemed to hear it too. "It was probably set to arm when I lay down. And obviously it's counting down, but it might go off if I move as well. Bit of a dilemma really," the red head sucked one of her thumbs. "How are you at disarming bombs?"

"Not enough time," Aerie had knelt beside the bed and found herself looking at a stripped down version of the clockwork clock strapped to several cylinders. "I-I can use a force field to try and contain the explosion. A-although the strain will still put me at considerable risk… do I have your permission to sacrifice myself ma'am?"

"Only if you're sure there's other way… and the 'ma'am' thing again. I don't want you do this because you think you have to because you look at me as some kind of master. I don't want you think of different than you would another Avariel. Do you underst…"

"Ma'am?"

"Yes?"

"S-since we have mere seconds until the bomb goes off I think you should really try to get out of the way now."

"Right. Sorry. I was just babbling because I'm afraid for our lives. You ready? Go!"

Imoen shot up and leapt, bracing for some sort of shockwave to come after her. All that did follow her however was a sort of popping sound and a hiss… Aerie had successfully contained the blast, a brief fireball rapidly consuming all the fuel available within the force field. The only evidence of any explosive device was now a singed football sized hole in the center of the bed.

Aerie stood there gritting her teeth until the fireball died, then collapsed with a pained expression on her face and a bleeding nose. The strain of trying to contain that much energy was almost too much for her. It consumed much of the energy within her own body and probably ruptured a few blood vessels as well.

"Hey! Kid?! Are you okay?" Imoen ran to the Avariel, whom she found very pale… well, more pale than usual. Fortunately she was still conscious and made a weak effort to get up onto her knees. Imoen put an arm around Aerie's shoulders and helped the blonde to sit up on the bed.

"You okay?" The red head asked again, more calmly now. Aerie nodded, although she was only able to stay upright with Imoen's support. "You want a tissue or anything?"

"I'm… h-hungry," the Avariel said quietly.

"Sure. Soon as we're done here we'll go out and get something to eat. In the meantime maybe there's something in the refrigerator that'll give you a boost," Imoen stood up. As soon as she did Aerie flopped onto her side in the space the red head had been sitting in.

There was little left in the refrigerator that was still edible, but she found an old energy drink that probably hadn't gone completely bad yet. She returned with it, helped Aerie to sit up again and to get the bottle to her lips.

"Thanks," Imoen said.

"W-what?" Aerie was perplexed. "I-it was you w-who got me the drink…"

"I mean for saving my life and stuff."

"Oh… t-there's no need to thank me, ma'am. I-I didn't do it for the thanks."

"No?"

"No… d-doing good is its own reward," Aerie looked up and grinned facetiously through her bloody nose.

"You're crazy," Imoen sniggered and gave her friend a squeeze.

"I… I'm afraid I can't help you much now ma'am," the Avariel went serious again, and then through to sadness. She held up her bracelet and looked on Imoen with pleading… the crystal had gone completely dark. "I-it's just been pushed beyond it's limits lately… it-it will probably heal itself again, but… i-it's likely to take a while. I-I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. Really, I'm not going to abandon you anywhere just because of that. It's not your fault..."

"What the hell is all this noise?" The apartment door swung open and Missers Ratchet, the land lady stormed in, finding Imoen sat on the bed with her arm around a pretty blonde whose head in turn was falling into the red heads chest. "Disgusting," the old woman snorted, "I always had my suspicions about you."

"What?" Imoen rolled her eyes. "It's not like that. Can't you see she's hurt?"

"Yeah, well, that's her problem ain't it? My problem is whether or not you intend to pay any of the rent you owe for the last year."

"Come on," Imoen stood again. Aerie was just about able to sit up on her own now. "I don't owe for an entire year, and anyway," the red head straightened her back and turned her nose up imperiously, "Quite frankly Missers Ratchet, you should be paying me for staying in this rat infested flea market."

"What are you talking about? There ain't no rats."

"Well… there's rising damp look…"

"Rubbish."

"And there are woodworms."

"Well that's no problem… they'll drown in the damp. Now are you going to pay up or am I going to have to call the cops?"

"You know what? I-I want you to call the cops. Because, I bet as soon as they see the state of this place they'll want to call the Environmental Protection Agency to do a thorough inspection. You'll have landed yourself right in it."

"Fine. I'll call them. There were a man in here just last week fumigating the place."

"Of course there was," Imoen half snarled as she realized how the bomb had got in here, "and you didn't think at all to check this man's credentials?"

"Why should I? He were doing it for free," the elderly woman turned away, "Oh, and so you know; only couples are allowed to stay in the same room together. If she stays she'll have to rent one of the guest rooms."

"Well that's no good," Imoen called as the old woman hobbled back out, "I can't have sex with her if she's in another room!"

The old woman gasped, stopped in her tracks and looked back at the red head who was grinning evilly.

"Dis… disgusting!" Ratchet made the sign of the cross and hurried away. Imoen wiped the smile away and got back to Aerie.

"Um… you d-don't really want us to…" the Avariel asked fretfully.

"What? No, of course not. She's just… you know," Imoen looked into Aerie's wide eyed expression. "No you don't do you? I'll explain later. Thing is, she called my bluff so we have to go now."

"Oh! W-we have to remember the clockwork clock," Aerie got up and retrieved the said item from where she'd left it. The energy drink had certainly done its job. "Puffguts gave it to you… and it did contribute in a small way to me saving your life just now."

"Memories, eh? I'll be able to look at that clock and always remember fondly the day I nearly died," Imoen hurriedly threw a few more things into her own box, "now let's scram."

--

"Every time something goes wrong in this country it's the CIA that gets the blame for it," The head of the CIA, whose name he could not reveal but everyone knew it was Ian, complained outside his office. "They think we're omnipotent… that we control the whole rotation of the Earth, and gravity, and who wins the Superbowl… but we're just one little agency… we can't do all that! It's just… I-I just don't think anyone can understand the pressure I'm under."

"I know man… I know," his colleague, a man wearing general's stripes, gave his friend a reassuring pat on the back.

"I would never tell anyone else this, but… sometimes, I think about just selling our codes to the Russians and Chinese and ending it all."

"You've just gotta hold together man."

"It's just so hard sometimes," The head of the CIA sobbed, but he immediately wiped his tears away and stood appropriately straight and officious like when he heard someone call to them.

"Ahhh… gentleman. I have so looked forward to us working together for a change," Aran Linvail grinned. He looked like a typical rogue, with cropped blonde hair and a scar above one eye and dressed in black clothes and leather, and indeed this was one book you could judge by its cover. He had overseen many defense projects a few years ago, until it was found out that he was selling secrets not only to foreign governments, but to underworld low life's and corporations as well. Indeed, it was he who told the President of De'Arnise Industries all about they had and gave him all the plans to the secret base they had in the desert.

And yet despite these indiscretions it was true that he had always been successful. The secrets he sold to other countries had a way of countering each other and thus not really giving anyone any advantage. Even so he was found guilty of treason and fled the country, until he was offered a pardon a few days. He was also famed for his charm. Well, the general and the head of the CIA weren't impressed at all.

"Is there something we can help you with, sir," the general grunted a salute, acknowledging that Linvail was in charge of the operation but at the same making it clear that he's rather it were someone else.

"Straight to business eh? I suppose I can respect that," Aran nodded, "This Colonel of yours, the one who spoke to the alien… I'd like to see a copy of his debriefing. And a coffee, if that's not too much trouble."

"Sir! Right away, sir!"

"At ease general. Really, I don't want any of you to think of me as a superior… more as a facilitator. I don't want to get in the way of any of you doing your jobs."

"Is that right, sir?" The General said more softly.

"Of course… I know how hard it can be. All the pressure you're under. There are not many people you can talk to."

"You… you understand?" The head of the CIA went a little misty eyed.

"Believe me…" Aran placed a hand on his shoulder, casting a gaze that penetrated deep into the head of the CIA's soul. "I do."

"I… um," the head of the CIA straightened his suit, regaining some of his composure. "What the hell are you playing at general?!" He slapped his former best friend on the back of the head. "Fetch Mister Linvail his coffee at once! And I'll get those documents you wanted sir… perhaps you'd like to use my office?"

"That's so kind of you."

"Really, no problem at all. To be honest I always thought the whole treason thing was a bit unnecessary. And please call me Ian."

A short time later and Aran Linvail was comfortable in the head of the CIA's office, coffee in one hand and Colonel Carter's report in the other.

"There's another name mentioned here," he said at last, "Which you didn't mention to the President. An Imoen…"

"Just a first name," Ian explained, "And it's very popular these days."

"Perhaps," Aran tapped the desk, "however, I seem to recall hearing something about an Imoen just a few days ago. I don't think it was on TV… no, I think I was chatting to a hit man. Someone had put a bounty on her head… only a modest one so it didn't seem important. Can't remember who had placed the bounty and where… oh, but I'm sure it will come back to me."

Meanwhile, across the street from Imoen's apartment was parked a small car with black windows, from which four rather sinister looking men in fedoras, a lawyer, and a fluffy white cat watched as the red head and a blonde girl they didn't recognize were chased from the building by a frenzied old woman wielding a bread roller.


	16. Chapter 16 Life on Earth, Part Four

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #016**

**Life on Earth, Part Four**

Aerie had hoped she would learn far more about Imoen from visiting the place she lived. There were just a few keepsakes and items of memorabilia which seemed to be what the red head was primarily interested in, but apart from that the blonde had been disappointed to find very little which really typified Imoen's character. Although that in itself revealed something; the apartment they were in was not Imoen's home. There was likely no place the red headed master considered a home.

Also, items such as the exercise bike revealed that Imoen was impulsive, acquiring much that she had no use for due to some passing fancy; this worried Aerie a little. She was resolved to try hard to ensure that she herself was not a passing fancy, but without the power of her witch crystal she struggled to see ways a little blonde alien girl could prove herself useful; especially since there was so much happening around her that she didn't understand at all. Who Mason was and why he was trying to kill Imoen, for example. The red heads impulsiveness seemed to have resulted in her making many enemies throughout her life.

Of more immediate concern however was the 'hot dog', which was a stick of meat in a bun. Aerie didn't dare ask about the name; she was so hungry that she was prepared to eat anything, so Imoen had brought her to Jansen Burger. A rather grotesque statue of a rotund man with a big round nose grinned maniacally at all patrons as they entered the doors. The seats were colored purple, and purple livery adorned the walls and the same maniacal grin was printed on everything; after just one minute Aerie found the man really annoying and wanted to kick him, and then jump up and down on his stupid grinning face until it grinned no more. Some of the graffiti outside showed that many others felt far more strongly about this.

It seemed a wonder Jansen's stayed in business; but then the mere fact that he was so irritating meant that people were more likely to remember and therefore return to this place whenever they didn't really care what it was they were eating then they were to any of the more mundane places; Aerie was beginning to understand one of the principles of advertising. Of course, it was far harder for her to understand why images of curvaceous females who weren't wearing much appeared almost everywhere else. She supposed she hated those even more than Jansen's face.

"I can't believe Mason tried to blow me up," Imoen lent with her elbows on the table opposite Aerie, her red resting in her hands forcing her to purse her lips. The blonde meanwhile was holding a red bottle with a nozzle; she wasn't sure what to do with it so looked around to see what others were doing. Although the restaurant was sparsely populated, it soon became obvious that she was supposed to apply it to the stick of meat.

"I know he's an evil son of bitch," Imoen went on, "But I honestly thought he was smarter than that, not the kind to be indiscriminate about who he kills. He must be way angrier than I thought…"

"If… if this Mason is a known criminal, t-then why does no one stop him?" The Avariel asked.

"He's a really good lawyer I guess," Imoen shrugged, "Besides, most people who could give evidence are too afraid of him, and of his stupid cat," the red head shuddered.

Aerie was only half listening to the answer; the novelty of being in a new place was beginning to wear off and once again her thoughts started to turn inwards. This was a natural hazard for someone who had spent as much time alone as she had, and try as she might and in spite of all the wondrous things she'd already seen today she could never stop thinking about her former home and her people.

Amongst the Avariel there was almost no crime. Not that it never happened of course; she had been the first Avariel on Faenya-Dail to commit a crime in centuries, but she was by no means the first ever. There had been the infamous Cult of Erevan, for whose crimes several civilizations had to invent a whole new lexicon for. But on a city ship where populations numbered in the thousands, and every Avariel was there to support everyone else deviance tended to be very quickly rooted out. But here where there were millions, there seemed to be few who were willing to devote their time to caring about others. Perhaps because there were too many who needed caring for, so it was easier to just let everyone care for themselves…but not everyone had equal means; Nalia De'Arnise lived in a huge building owned by her father, whilst Imoen and no doubt many others lived out of boxes. And those with the power to change things could hardly see how much people suffered from the tops of their tall buildings… it was all rather depressing… still, they had their freedom at least. People weren't all stuck in cages, unsure if they were truly alive or dead…

"Hey!" Imoen startled Aerie by suddenly slapping her palms loudly on the surface of table. The blonde was for a moment confused by the red blotch slowly creeping down one side of her face, and then realized that during her reverie she must have unconsciously squeezed the bottle much harder than was intended. "Gimme that!"

"I-I," Aerie pleaded desperately, but it was too late. Imoen snatched the bottle out of the blondes and proceeded to squirt half it's contents over the top Aerie was wearing.

"There! That'll teach ya!" The red head announced, apparently satisfied that she had gotten her own back. The shirt was ruined, and Aerie sighed.

"T-these are your clothes," she said. Imoen stopped smiling.

"You can keep them now," she glared for a second. Aerie feared she may have genuinely offended her, but soon the red head broke into a far more amiable smile. "You know, Diana and I used to have food fights all the ti…" she began but cut herself off, her smile fading into sadness. "I should stop speaking about her all the time."

"Do… do you want another hug?"

"Uh… not in here. People might think we're… you know," wide eyed stare again, "No; well never mind. Come on. We should behave like grown ups. Would you mind passing me a towel?"

"How do grown ups behave?"

"Serious, sensible, business like," Imoen said as she wiped her face, "keep things tidy."

"Oh," Aerie was rather disappointed. For some reason, she rather enjoyed being messy. Perhaps because she'd spent years in a clean, sterile environment. But, there were serious issues to be discussed although she was sure that Imoen had likely made her mind up about them anyway. "What will you do… a-about Mason?"

"Well, the sensible thing to do would be to say out of town until he cools off."

"Yes," the blonde nodded, "but, y-you won't do the sensible thing."

"What you talking about? When have I not been sensible?"

"Well," Aerie began coyly, drawing little circles on the table with her finger. Imoen had fought an extra-dimensional monster that fed off the life-force of material creatures, turned on a heavily armed group led by a very single minded cyborg for the sake of someone she'd just met; of course, Aerie understood that Imoen had other motives as well, but nevertheless… "I… I just don't think you would turn your back and run away. And if you won't run it means you'll have to fight, somehow."

"Maybe," Imoen made a pyramid out of her hands, "and what do you think we should do?"

"I… I will do whatever it is you want," Aerie seemed confused by the question.

"Yeah, but what do you think would be sensible?"

"I think," Aerie thought back to Sorel. For a time, he'd had absolute power over her at least. He did as he wished and no one dared to try and stop him, even if it was obvious they didn't agree with it – perhaps not unlike this Mason. She also remembered the intense satisfaction she'd felt when she finally was able to fight back and blasted his living corpse into oblivion. "I think that no one's power should be allowed to go unchallenged."

"Well, I've already taken on an alien monster… an every day crime lord should be nothing. First though, I've gotta go to the bathroom."

"Y-you," Aerie stood up anxiously when Imoen did; she didn't need to go, but she was still afraid to let Imoen out of her sight.

"I'll just be a few minutes," Imoen smiled reassuringly, "Just sit down, relax, and try not to draw any attention to yourself. I'll be back."

Aerie wasn't happy with the situation, but elected to sit back down and finish her hot dog, reasoning that she must have looked very silly. A guardian of the galaxy shouldn't need someone looking after her all the time. And yet, the second Imoen was gone the walls started closing in. Looking around the restaurant she found no friendly faces; only strangers who either wanted to hurt her or would look away while someone else did. One man glared at her hatefully, although he tried to conceal behind a paper he was 'reading; a couple in the corner conspired about her while the boy mopping the floor tightened his grip on the implement… Jansen's face was no longer an annoyance, but the very visage of terror.

She was still being foolish, she realized; these weren't the people who had tortured her before. Those people were gone now. But, well, she had no way of knowing what anyone's intentions were or what she could do to protect herself. Anything she said or did might offend someone who didn't understand that this world and its people were strange to her. She tried to do what Imoen said and not draw any attention to herself, sinking deeper and deeper into her seat and almost wishing the thing would swallow her up. The red head had better be back soon…

Unfortunately, she wasn't back before a group swaggered into the restaurant; three men and a woman.

"_Whazzup!_" the apparent leader blurted as they approached the counter. "Hey pimples," he said to the boy stood nervously behind the till, "You get us four cola's."

"Y-yes… sir," the leader reached across the counter and grabbed the back of the boys head, pulling the young man towards him.

"There had better not be ice in them this time, or there'll be trouble, got it?"

"Y-yes," the boy hurried to pull him self away and collect the order. He didn't ask them to pay. The gang leader leant back against the counter, surveying the restaurant. Most of the customers were suddenly in a hurry to leave.

Aerie didn't like these people at all. She especially didn't like the way he'd spoken to the staff; for some reason the lot of them reminded her of the guards on the island facility. Unfortunately, a person trying hard not to be noticed like Aerie was tends to stand out. And so it was with great dread and loathing she realized they were now heading towards her.

"Hey girl," the leader beamed, removing his sunglasses and where Imoen had been sitting. He also helped himself to the remaining half of Aerie's meal. "You wanna ditch this joint and come on back to Paulie's so we can play 'hide the hot dog'?" He winked. In response, Aerie arched her eyebrow and her mouth opened and closed a few times.

"Hey bitch," the woman of the group fell next to Aerie and grabbed the blondes jaw, "When Paulie asks you a question you gotta answer!"

"I-I-I can't answer him," Aerie tried desperately to explain.

"Why not?"

"Because I… I don't know what he's talking about!"

"Why's she got sauce all down her shirt?" One of the other men asked.

"She's gotta be retarded or something," the woman said unsympathetically. "Hey Paulie, I don't like her face… she keeps looking at me funny."

"Oh my girl," Paulie grinned, "You shoulda been a lot nicer. Last time Tina met someone she didn't like they had to pick the whore up with doggy bags."

"But I really don't understand!" The blonde kept pleading even as Tina raised her fist.

"This little one isn't worth it," Imoen caught the girls forearm, "Come, let me buy you a drink… aha," instead of taking up her offer the two other men in the gang each took hold of one of Imoen's and lifted the red head off her feet. "Now listen," she went on regardless, "if this goes on there's going to be a fight. And sure, you might win, but not without getting hurt yourselves and you don't want that. So why don't we all just go home, and," Paulie stood up and pulled out a knife. "Oh, now that's just not fair."

"I'm going to cut you up bitch…"

"No!" Aerie sprang to her feet. It was one thing for them to threaten her, but to threaten her friend and master? "I won't let me my friend be… ack!" Unfortunately her sudden rise in bravery was cut down by Tina planting her fist into the blondes belly, sending her sprawling into the aisle. She did succeed however in drawing the gangs attention away from Imoen as they instead turned to point and laugh at the blonde writhing in agony.

Aerie felt her cheat and stomach heave as she rolled onto her knees. Even as she struggled for air, her heart started to beat faster…

'_But… admit something… you enjoy the pain…'_

Her muscles tensed as a sudden surge of energy swept through her. She felt afraid, but she also felt the anticipation of what was to come…

'_The proof of life…'_

In that moment, the years of being tortured, locked away, abandoned, forgotten, abused and used; she could no longer keep those years buried or redirect the energy they provided elsewhere. Instead, they swept aside all other concerns giving her the strength to stand and then became focused on a single point; the end of Tina's chin. And it really felt good.

"Holy crap…" Imoen was as stunned as everyone else in the restaurant to see the gang girl spinning. Tina fell to the ground and stayed there.

Although the force of Aerie's blow couldn't have been that great, it was sufficient for its psychological impact to be decisive. Despite all their boasting, the gang members were bullies who relied on their numbers to intimidate people. They could give out punishment, but none of them had the Avariel's experience at taking it. This combined with the blondes sudden ferocity, the look of someone who was definitely not going to meekly surrender caused them all to think that maybe this wasn't going to be fun for them at all… only Paulie was able to summon up the courage to charge at Aerie. Of course, he was the only one who had a knife.

But it was misjudged; the blonde simply side stepped and tripped him, forcing him to fall head first into the mop pocket.

Imoen was amazed; so much so that she almost forgot her own predicament. The men holding her were distracted by seeing their leader thrashing about on the floor with a bucket over his head. She stamped on the foot of the one on the right, and used her now free arm to deliver a low blow to the one on the left.

"Let that be a lesson to you boys," she said as they hopped and rolled, "Stay away from all these foreign girls. And red heads."

She turned around, stepping over Tina as she tried to get around the table to check on her friend. But she stopped short as she saw what was, to her at least, something far more terrifying then all the extra-dimensional monsters with big teeth the universe could throw at her.

"Meow?" Said Fluffy.

"Er… n-nice kitty," the red head said as she slowly backed away, "mustn't let it know I'm afraid… they can sense your fear…"

Paulie finally managed to pry the bucket from his head, only to find himself looking up not at a diminutive blonde woman, but at a tall thin man in a suit flanked by four much heavier men all wearing fedoras.

"Paulie, Paulie, Paulie," the thin man said as he wiped his glasses, "I do believe that you have been warned before about causing trouble in this neighborhood," he stated as he put them back on.

"Huh?" The thug was very confused, and very scared.

"You see Paulie, if businesses get disrupted that it makes it harder for them to pay me. So no business gets disrupted unless I say so. After all, it wouldn't be much of protection racket if it didn't provide protection… from trash like you, for example."

"You want me to break his thumbs boss?" One of the men wearing fedoras cracked his sizable knuckles.

"I don't think his thumbs will be enough… break his legs."

"Right you are boss."

"No! Please! I-I won't cause no more trouble… it was just a mistake!" Paulie screamed as two of the men dragged him outside, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Cuiusvis hominis est errare; nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare," the suited man sighed. Aerie didn't like the looks of him either, but the adrenaline was now leaving her system so she merely glared disdainfully. "That's latin my dear," he said as he took a long stride towards her.

"Ohh… latin. You really _must_ be clever," Imoen scoffed. He ignored her.

"It means…"

"A-any man can make a mistake," Aerie said boldly. With Quayles help she'd been able to learn many of Earth's languages; really once she understood English the rest were very easy. "O-only a fool keeps making the same one."

"That's right. I do not believe we have met," he bent over and took the blonde girls hand, kissing it. "My name is Mason."

Aerie knew there was a reason she didn't like him. And despite the fact that he was a very well kept man, he felt slimy for some reason.

"Er… L-Laura," she remembered to introduce herself.

"Delighted."

The Avariel did think to say something like 'the pleasure is all yours', but she wondered if that might be too bold considering what a dangerous man he clearly was and maybe it was a cliché around here and pretty soon the moment had passed anyway.

"I'm surprised you came back," Mason turned his attention back to Imoen who still hadn't been able to find a way to get past Fluffy, "I am also surprised that you didn't get the present we left for you."

"Oh, we got it alright," the red head spat.

"I see," he relaxed into a chair, "It seems I underestimated you… and now you've even acquired your own side kick. I'm sure Diana would be proud."

"You don't know anything about her."

"True, I only know what I've read. And I know the media has a habit of embellishing these stories a little. Still, she seems to have been quite a remarkable woman. So remarkable that she never really gave you a chance to prove yourself, did she? It seems you do have skills… skills that could be useful…"

"Listen, you weaselly little worm…" Imoen rushed forward suddenly, but the cat hissed causing her to run back again and climb on top of the counter.

"Fred, bring me a coffee and some doughnuts. And Ed, why don't you take Fluffy back out to the car," Mason instructed. One of the henchmen moved towards the cat like a farm boy trying to catch a chicken.

"Here kittykitty," he said, failing to catch the animal but eventually succeeding in shooing it outside.

"Why don't both you ladies sit down?" The boss gestured to the seats in front of him. Imoen came down from the counter, tugging on her jacket to compose herself before sitting down. Aerie then sat next to her, having waited to see what the red head would do.

"I notice the yellow fellow isn't with you," Mason said casually, stirring his cup like he was just talking to some friends rather than a crime boss trying to intimidate people. Considering the content of his speech, both women found that far more despicable.

"No, but I'm sure he sends his love," Imoen went along with the charade. "And he hopes you've given up smoking."

"And, how is Minsc?" Mason sneered.

"You know, I've not seen him much lately either. I should probably call him," Imoen stood, but the henchman, Fred apparently, was stood behind her and forced her back into her seat.

"I don't think we need to bother him right now," The boss smiled, "He could have been a champion you know… before you came along. But, what's done is done."

"Look, just being in the same room as you makes me come out with this awful rash, so why don't you just say what it is you want?"

"You stole one of my main attractions, damaged my property and injured some of my men… you should really be killed for that. But, like I said, you have skills and are clearly resourceful. I'm offering you a chance to work off your debt and not have to look over your shoulder for the rest of what would be a rather short life… crudelius est quam mori semper timere mortem…"

"It… i-t is more cruel to fear death than to die," Aerie translated. It was clear to her now that this man considered himself superior to all others because of his intellect… his smugly superior gait must have been what initially repelled her. It was also clear he was in love with his own power; a man like that really needed to be knocked back a little.

"You want me to work for you?" Imoen sat back a little. "What would you say to that Laura?"

"I… I b-believe an appropriate phrase would be, 'ascendo tuum'." Imoen had no idea what it meant, but the effect on Mason was that he immediately lost his composure.

"Now you listen to me you little brats," he hissed whilst turning red, "I was prepared to be generous because you're just a couple of dumb kids. But you have this one chance and this one chance only!"

"Mason," Imoen laid her hands bare on the table; a gesture of friendship, "Buddy. It is a really kind offer, but honestly, I would have to say that I would rather marry a fish."

"Well then, you will get to meet plenty where you're going," the crime lord stood up.

"You want me to do 'em now boss?" A henchman asked.

"No… you heard the blonde… more cruel to fear death. Sooner or later, these two will have a little accident. Now let's go."

"Right," the henchmen followed Mason towards the exit, "I'm a little confused boss," one asked as he held the door open. "Are we just gonna wait for them to have an accident or where you saying we're going to make them have an accident, just not yet?"

"Just get in the car you nitwits."

"H-he seemed very angry," Aerie hung her head forlornly. She had never got to finish her hot dog and still felt hungry.

"Yeah… we made him mad all right."

"So… h-he's probably not going to come back for these doughnuts, right?"


	17. Chapter 17 Life on Earth, Part Five

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #017**

**Life on Earth, Part Five**

"Getting late already," Imoen observed once the two were outside. It was much darker than it had been; a combination of the sun getting lower and the heavy clouds that had recently blown in from above the ocean. "We'd better find some place to… what are you doing?" Aerie hadn't yet made it out the doors to the restaurant. She peered around them, eyes nervously darting from side to side.

"She… s-she might still be around, somewhere," the blonde explained.

"Who? Tina? Last I saw, those guys were all running towards the hills after Mason and his boys showed up… besides, after what you did to her I think she'd need a damn good reason to even think about the slightest possibility of coming back."

"I didn't hit all that hard. S-she was more surprised I think… and, i-if she realizes that…" Aerie bit down on her lip, unsure of how to finish her thought. She recalled when she was first captured, and they started to torture her… she tried to resist, to fight them, but it always ended the same; they were too strong and too many.

"Don't be so presagious. Just get out here!"

Aerie blinked a few times at the grinning red head, impressed that she remembered the word she'd given her before, which the Avariel had gotten from a book of poems that Quayle had allowed her to read. Perhaps things were different now; she had people who cared for her, and who she cared for in return…

"You waiting for me to come and drag you out or something?" Imoen repeated, her outstretched arm still beckoning. "Just put one foot in front of the other and step through the door… once you've taken the first step the rest will be much easier. Trust me." Aerie did, and so, she left the shelter of the building and stepped into the street.

"T-thank you," the alien girl said.

"What for?"

"For… for helping me against those bullies."

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything… not that I wouldn't have done something, but, you just never gave me a chance."

"That's not… that is, b-both those times… just now and, w-with Sorel. I… I don't think I'd have been able to do anything if you hadn't been there."

"Well…" Imoen bowed her head and put her hands in her pockets, standing urchin like in the middle of the street. "I… I'm afraid I don't really do mushy and sentimental very well. But, thanks. Still don't see what it is I did though."

"You were kind to me," Aerie elaborated, "I… I lost my home a-and all the people I cared for, and now… now, I don't think I want to lose anything else. Ever," the Avariel finished sincerely.

"No… nor do I," the red head breathed and frowned. "Look, we had better get," Imoen started, but didn't finish. The Avariel held her hands up, feeling droplets of cold water fall onto them.

"This… this is…"

"Rain!" The red head smiled, holding her own hands up. Within seconds it was full blown shower, the words 'pitter patter' nowhere near sufficing to describe the noise of the sheer volume of water beating down against the rooftops and concrete.

"I-it's wonderful," the Avariel said, although it was unclear if Imoen was actually able to hear. "I-I'd only ever read about such things… n-never seen it… felt it…"

"When I was a little girl," the red head had to speak up a bit, "I used to think that the rain was God crying because of all the bad people in the world; apart from when I was thirteen and I equated it with a very different bodily function, but the first one was nicer, don't you think? Anyway, now I know that rain is good… once its cleared everything always smells fresh and new… If we stay out here much longer we are going to catch a cold though… well I am. Come on!" Imoen grabbed the blondes and they started to run, water filled clothing becoming heavier as they did so.

Cold, breathless, her heart struggling to keep pace with the rest of her body; Aerie was loving every second and found herself laughing out loud. Then, Imoen suddenly let go. Just in front of Aerie, the red head jumped and landed in a deep puddle sending a wave all over the blondes pants and then sniggered about it.

"W-why did you do that!" The blonde protested.

"Didn't I say I always kept my promises?"

"What?"

"You're smiling… for real," Imoen winked. Aerie was a little taken aback by this; she hadn't really been thinking about it. But, yes, she believed that right now, in this moment she felt… happy.

"It… it won't last," she said with a sigh.

"Better make the most of it while it does then. I don't need to order you to start having fun, do I?"

"All… all right," Aerie thought for an instant about how she should make the most of it. Then, she jumped into the puddle after Imoen.

--

After several minutes spent giggling as they kicked water over each other, even while it fell on them from above, Imoen finally decided that they were soaked enough and brought the game to a halt.

She led them to an old house she claimed was abandoned, making short work of both the padlocks on the fence and those on the doors. The yard was overgrown and clearly hadn't been tended to for some time… it was a miracle they were able to find the path.

Once inside, it was fair to say that the pair were drenched; matted hair and clothes and boots that squelched as they walked across the dusty floorboards. There were lots of broken furniture around, old books and sheets; once Imoen had found the fireplace it was easy to get one going. Since it was now night time she was confident the smoke wouldn't give them away. The stripped off their wet clothes and laid them out to try, equally confident that since the windows were boarded up absolutely no one anywhere was witnessing this scene of two pretty young women stripping themselves naked, revealing their smooth skinned yet firm young bodies… and anyway, Imoen had brought some more clothes from her apartment so they were dressed again shortly afterwards.

"I'm getting kind of sleepy," Imoen yawned, "We'll spend the night here. Tomorrow we'll meet up with Minsc again. Hopefully I'll have come up with a plan for dealing with Mason."

"Paint!" Aerie exclaimed.

"No, I don't want to paint him," Imoen slowly sat up, "I don't think he's going to call off his hit men just because I flatter him with a portrait; if anything that'll make it worse since I suck as an artist… oh," it seemed Aerie had been exploring and had uncovered an easel along with several tins of paint. "Yeah, this used to be Prism's house. He was an artist, and he died about two years ago and no one's moved in since. They reckon the place is haunted."

"Haunted?" Even though she had 'rounded' her ears and they were concealed beneath her long blonde hair, it was still somehow possible to see Aerie's shoot up.

"Sorry… I figured someone from such an advanced and enlightened race wouldn't believe in ghosts and that type of thing."

"S-sometimes, th-things happen that even the Avariel can't explain," Imoen blinked; she hadn't seen Aerie move but suddenly the blonde was kneeling right beside her. "The universe is such a vast… I-I don't know if it will ever be possible for anyone to unravel all of it's layers…"

"'To the rational mind nothing is inexplicable, simply unexplained'. That's what Edwin used to say."

"Hmmm… y-yes. He sounds like a wise man."

"Who? Edwin? Beh… he just got that from a book or something. But he sure knows a lot, I'll grant him that."

"What about you? D-do you believe in ghosts?"

"Well, I didn't want to say anything because I was sure it was just my imagination, but," Imoen sat up more, using her finger to beckon Aerie closer. "Just a little while ago, while I was getting the fire started, I looked over my shoulder for a second and I saw something… an apparition! It was weird… she had this ghostly white skin and almost white hair, and her body was covered in a white sheet, and… she just stood there, by that window, as if she was staring at something and she didn't say a word. It made me feel a chill," Imoen shuddered, but Aerie arched an eyebrow skeptically.

"That… that was me."

"Oh, right," the red head grinned, "Well, to be honest, when I traveled with Diana I saw a lot of strange stuff and things I didn't think were possible before. But, I don't think anyone ever comes back. Not really."

"I see," the blonde closed her eyes. She seemed to be giving the matter some thought.

"I gotta sleep now. Aren't you tired?"

"A-avariel don't really need much sleep. One hour is usually enough for us. S-sometimes, if we're injured we'll sleep for longer so that our minds can concentrate on repairing the damage as quickly as possible."

"Right," Imoen nodded. She should have remembered that from Sorel's that she had been reading. Looking like that though, it was very easy to forget that 'Laura' wasn't actually human. "So what will you do all night?"

"I…" the blonde looked back at the easel. "Hm… w-when I was, y-young, I… I used to be quite proficient at art. Quayle; he encouraged me to try again, to see if it would make me happy. But I could only think of sad things to draw… a-and they never let me have any paint in the facility. I-I think they were afraid I would try to poison myself."

"You won't, will you?"

"No," Aerie smiled sweetly and shook her still damp hair, "I… I thought I was dead once. For a time there was… n-nothing but emptiness. Perhaps, now and then, I saw the shadow of life; but it was ephemeral and transparent against the void. B-but, in the end… I came back."

--

While it was lots of fun trying to figure out exactly what Aerie had meant, Imoen was too tired and eventually just had to fall asleep. She woke up in the middle of a country road in the summertime. Which was rather odd considering that when she fell asleep it had been the start of spring and she'd been in city; But whatever… she decided to just go with it and set off down the sandy broken road.

After a short distance she came upon a cart that had stopped to the side of the road. Next to it was a boy wearing a dirty medieval tunic and holding onto a stick with which he was mercilessly beating his horse.

"C'mon! Get up you worthless sack of bones!" The boy yelled. The exhausted animal blurted and squealed with each strike of the stick but appeared unwilling or more likely unable to rise to its feet. But those facts in no way lessened the boys enthusiasm, and as he raised his arm to strike again, Imoen was at his back and caught his wrist.

"You know, I may just be a city girl and not know much about this sort of thing," the red head smiled innocently, "but, it seems to me that she might recover faster if you stop beating her and let her rest."

"Mind yer own business whore!" The boy pushed Imoen away, surprising her with his strength she fell on her bottom while returned to the beating. But oh no… there was no way she was going to let some kid out of a renaissance festival get away with that. With a determined look she got up to her feet…

"Curious, isn't it?" A familiar voice asked. Imoen closed her eyes and counted to three.

"I was wondering when you'd show up again," she said to Irenicus, "So it's another one of your nightmares right? No matter how hard I try I'm not going to be able to stop him."

"You will not have to," the tall, bald man, dressed from head to toe in leather (hardly practical on a hot day like this) stepped out from behind and into Imoen's line of vision. "Right now, the boy controls the animal through its fear. He holds the stick and therefore he holds the power; and yet it is an illusionary power. What, do you suppose, would happen if the beast ever came to realize its true strength compared to that of the boy?"

Imoen didn't answer; she just watched. The boy was by now alternating between using his stick and kicking the prone animal. Eventually, it seemed to give in to his demands and struggle haphazardly to its feet.

"About bloody time!" The boy still held his stick up threateningly. "Now you get back onto that…" and then the horse jerked suddenly and returned the boys kicks with one of its own; but its power being far greater, the horse crushed his skull in just one blow.

"Dumbass," Imoen spat as the beast reared itself in triumph, "can't say that I feel sorry for him. Got what he had coming as far as I can tell."

"Perhaps," Irenicus nodded solemnly, "nevertheless, I believe it would be prudent for you to run."

"Huh?" Imoen wasted a second she needed to look up and see what he meant; the horse, apparently having been given a second wind but still very angry over the way it had been treated, now held the red head in a hateful stare, it's hooves rubbing the turf as it prepared to charge. Of course, it been a dream she really didn't need to run, but her body reacted to what her eyes were seeing and she did anyway.

The horse bounded after her across the open fields; Imoen was just managing to stay ahead of it but she felt her body start to tire while the animal wasn't slowing down at all… but if it was a dream then how could she be getting tired? She would have to think about that when she woke up…

In the meantime, she had reached a fence but tripped when she tried to leap over it; the horse however got over the hurdle effortlessly. If it wasn't on a murderous rampage it would clearly have had a future in showjumping. When it turned about, Imoen had nowhere left to run. The animal trotted over, and as it reared up for its killing blow Imoen instinctively covered, even though she knew that would be of no help whatsoever.

But then a moment passed. She uncovered her face and found that the scene had changed. Grey stones, timber, red liveries; it seemed she was in a castle. A dining hall, judging by the long wooden tables with food laid out on them. And sat on the throne was Irenicus, head resting on his fist as if he was bored.

"I don't know what the point of all that was," Imoen spat out angrily as she got to her feet, "But if you were meant to be 'warning' me about Aerie; trying to drive a wedge between me and my friends, then I think there's two important points you've overlooked. One; Aerie isn't a horse. People have treated her badly, but she still understands kindness and compassion as well. And it would certainly break her back if people tried to ride her all day… and I know certain minds, dirty minds, would probably think there was some kind of innuendo in what I just said, but I think you probably know as well as I do that Avariel just never think about that sort of thing… and what I'm saying is she's not a horse. That was point one. Point two… even if she did come to realize her own strength, it wouldn't change the fact that she's a good person."

"How can you be so sure?" Irenicus leant forward, suddenly interested. His leather made an irritating creaking sound.

"I know. The first time I met her, she tried to stop me from killing a creature that was running away. And earlier in Jansen's, when that guy pulled out a knife on me; both those times, she didn't think about what she was doing. She just reacted on instinct; good instinct. An instinct to help others and protect them."

"Interesting… so you believe that your instincts betray the type of person you really are?"

"For Aerie it does; people made her believe she was weak. But in those moments when she doesn't think and just does, and so none of that can affect her… yeah, that shows how she really is."

"And you? I can tell that right now, with every fiber of your being, you want nothing more than to tear my heart out with your bare hands. And yet, you resist your urges… your instinct."

"What I want is to know why you're playing these games with me!" Imoen screeched. "What was it… your Shakespeare got a bad review so now you're taking out your revenge on the world by dressing up like someone from the Rocky Horror Picture Show?"

"The games haven't begun yet," The leather clad man remarked in an annoyingly calm manner, "but they will soon. The next time you sleep," at this point Irenicus, the castle, everything, started to fade away. "I suggest you be prepared. In the meantime, do enjoy the company of your old friend."

The castle faded out, and in faded an arena. In front of her stood a woman who was tall and strong and with long red hair; Diana.

"Well, I know you're not a ghost," Imoen said, "So you're a part of the dream… whose dream is it though?"

"I'm sorry Imoen," the larger woman stared with tear stained eyes. "I have to do what he says…"

"What do you mean?" Imoen asked, but it was soon obvious anyway. Her old friend lunged at her, arms swinging. The red head just narrowly avoided the blow.

And for the whole rest of the night they fought; in this arena there were no objects, accessories or terrain for Imoen to take advantage of. It was a battle of strength and endurance and skill; unfortunately in such a battle Imoen never really stood a chance.

All attempts to reason with the person who in life had been like a sister to her failed, and on and on the nightmare went.

--

Meanwhile, in what Aerie at least believed was the real world. She was aware of possible arguments to the contrary, but disregarded them since she didn't see that she had much choice but to trust what her senses were telling her. She wished they were telling her something else.

Oh, it was a good painting, technically speaking. She had decided to paint the grass, and the rain and even some cows. It was just, when she started, she hadn't wanted to paint anything so sad… but there in the top right, between a break in the clouds, there was a star. A single star surrounded by darkness and shadows, looking down on the world from so far away. So alone…

The alien girl tried to get a grip; it was a silly thing to get upset about. She could always paint more stars into the picture. And yet, although Imoen had made her happy for a short time, the red heads snoring now served as a reminder that although she could live among humans she would never truly be one of them.

Sighing, she turned away from the painting and locked out the window into the sky. The clouds were clearing and she could see them, the stars. Their lights beckoned her but, unlike Imoen, they were out of her reach.

She would just have to accept things; even if she could acquire transportation, she would never be able to find Faenya Dail. Finding a needle in a haystack didn't even compare to immensity of that task; it was more like trying to find a grain of sugar on a beach. She knew all this, and told her self it many times, but… it didn't make it hurt any less. And then she had another thought; even if she could go back, would she want to now that she knew there were such wonderful things as grass and rain, to return and live a live of endless contemplation, to never experience the joy of splashing around in puddles… or the thrill of fighting for your life? She liked all these experiences; she had once thought she was dead, but now she knew for sure that she was alive and she wanted to feel more.

Oh, there were terrible things here on Earth… but good people like Quayle and Imoen. But to enjoy those she would have to live amongst humans, even though she wasn't one of them… but perhaps she wasn't Avariel anymore either? But in any case, she wanted to see them, her sisters; especially Fayanna. She wanted to tell where she'd went, and that she was sorry…

Aerie suddenly heard a sound from one of the back rooms; a small thud, probably too quiet for human's to hear at this distance, and Imoen still seemed to be sleeping peacefully. It could be an intruder; on the other hand it could have just been a rat. She didn't want to wake the red head unless she was sure, since she was aware that humans required a full eight hours sleep.

There was nothing else for it then; she would just have to risk leaving Imoen's side for a moment and taking a look. One little step at a time she made her towards the back of the house, only stopping to carefully pick up a table leg. Everything seemed so still and so quiet, like the rest of the city were a thousand miles away…

There was another possibility, she realized; she might have heard a ghost. But that was so silly she had to stop herself from laughing hysterically. It really was very quiet, and there were shadows everywhere… all kinds of shapes that she couldn't quite identify. Some could have been people, monsters… or ghosts…

"No such thing as ghosts… get a hold of yourself y-you wimp!" She chastised herself under her breath. Then she wondered she was doing… was she trying to be, what was word… macho? Or whatever the female equivalent was. It was doomed to fail; she was quite aware that she wasn't big and tough and never had much of a problem admitting it. But she was also aware that there were real people currently threatening Imoen's life, and it was her duty to protect her master… No, her friend, from harm. Especially now that she was vulnerable in the middle of her sleep cycle.

Swallowing her fears, she slowly opened the final door, cringing when it creaked suddenly. This was the room she heard the sound coming from.

At first glance it was the same as every other room in the house; old furniture covered in sheets, which in turn were covered by dust. But, the boards covering the window… one of them looked like it had been pried lose. Not enough to allow a fully grown human to pass through, but she had no idea what sorts of gadgets that might be able to use to get to them – like some kind of radio controlled robot that would inject them with poison while they slept; humans were clearly most ingenious when it came to that sort thing.

Or maybe she was letting her imagination get the better of her. The boards could have been pried lose a long time ago, or may have just come apart on their own. Besides, she didn't hear anything else… except…

Aerie spun around, table leg held high in the air. The figure in front of her yelped in surprise and fell over backwards. The Avariel managed to reign in her nerves just in time to stop herself from bringing the leg crashing down.

It was… just a child. A human boy.

--

"I saw you two sneak into the house," the little brown haired boy was sat in an old armchair, legs dangling over the seat and kicking at the air. Aerie had never met anyone smaller than her before… no actually, that was a lie. Once before she had, but that was a long time ago and had only been a very brief acquaintance. Anyhow, it was hard for her to judge the boys age, but she would say probably still in the single digits. "So I decided to sneak in after you… make sure you weren't up to no good."

"B-by yourself?" The Avariel was sat in the chair opposite the boy. She had decided not to wake Imoen; she hadn't much experience with children, or indeed any at all, but it didn't seem like any of them were in danger. Indeed, the child had become most amiable after she had given him some cookies, which was all the food Imoen had thought to bring in from the car. "We could have been dangerous people."

"But you're not, are you?" He grinned and stuffed another biscuit in his mouth. "Bad people don't give you cookies."

"I-I'm not so sure about that," Aerie frowned. "Quayle said that sometimes, people will try to trick you… pretend to be nice when they're not really."

"You're not trying to trick me are you?"

"No… but, y-you don't know…"

"How do you tell then? If someone's trying to trick you or not?"

"I… well… that is," she frowned even more. Maybe she should have woken Imoen after all. At least though, she was sure that the red head wasn't trying to trick her. Breaking her out of the facility, going against all those; if it was all a trick it was a very strange one and didn't seem to work at all to Imoen's advantage. "Maybe it's one of those things you can only learn once you've had experience… anyway, d-don't children have parents?"

"Yeah, I got a mum and dad. I always sneak out when they're both asleep… and then I sneak back and they don't ever know I'm gone!"

"Y-you shouldn't leave your home without telling anybody!" Aerie suddenly involuntarily burst out angrily. The boy, shocked into silence, stared wide eyed at her whilst slowly munching the last cookie. "I… I-I'm sorry. It's just… w-what if something bad were to happen to you, and your family didn't know where you were. Can… can you imagine the pain you would put them through?"

"Hm… I… I like you!" The boy beamed suddenly. "You're pretty nice… for a girl. You don't got to worry about me though, because I'm really good at sneaking. Never been caught before now."

Aerie furrowed her brow… she admired the boys adventurous spirit, but it seemed he really didn't understand any of the dangers. She didn't know what to with him. Imoen would probably know, but Imoen needed her sleep.

"I knew you weren't a bad person," he went on heedless, "because I saw you when you were painting. You just looked… really sad. What's your name?"

"La-Laura," Aerie sighed.

"And why'd you look so sad?"

"I… i-it was just… I'm a very long way from home."

"Where're you from?"

"Um… Ca-Canada?" The Avariel hazarded, but the boy looked doubtfully at her. She tried again, but she could only think of the two places Bill had mentioned. "Britain?"

"You don't sound British."

"Maybe I… lost my accent?"

"You're not very good at telling fibs. Why won't you say where you're really from?"

"Alright," the blonde leant forwards conspiratorially. She was getting tired of the boys questions, so decided to try the truth. He was certain not to believe her anyway. "I come from outer space. My name isn't really Laura; It's Aerie. I was born on the Avariel city ship of Faenya Dail, a member of the Meneluin Chapter. Thirty six years ago I came to Earth in response to a distress signal; I was captured by your government, tortured and experimented upon… I only recently managed to escape and now I have to keep my identity a secret."

"Th-that's," the boy blinked a few times, "That's awesome!" He laughed; but contrary to Aerie's expectations it wasn't a mocking laugh. "So what's the city ship like… to live on I mean?"

"It's," the Avariel closed her eyes, trying to capture an image from all those years ago, "T-there are silver lakes, a-and whole forests that look carved from nice… but they're not cold. Above we're protected by an opaque blue dome, and through it you can always see the stars. There are Ivory towers rising above the ice forest, and rearwards are the two tallest; the one on the left is the Tower of War. Gnarled and twisted; It's where our warriors train… you often see them patrolling the inside of the dome, held high up with their mechanical wings. And next to it is he Tower of Wisdom, from where the most ancient amongst us keep watch, both on the city ship and on the stars themselves; only they know where our course will take us. And for the Avariel ourselves; we are a sisterhood. S-sometimes we fight and argue but always we try our best to help each other survive as our home drifts ever onwards through the vastness of space."

"Cool," the boy sat back and pondered all of this, "But… there are no boys? So how do you make babies?"

"W-well," Aerie giggled girlishly, "We… we don't. Deep within the heart of Faenya Dail herself the core of our main computer maintains the gene pattern from which all Avariel are created within her womb... she is the mother to us all."

"Cool… and do you have light sabers and stuff?"

"What? I-I'm afraid I don't know what a-a 'light saber' is… w-we do have lots of photon based weapons…"

"You really are from another world if you've never heard of light saber," the little boy swung himself down from his seat. "I guess I should go home now… what's wrong?"

"Oh… i-it's nothing. I guess… whenever I get to talk about these things I feel a little less lonely."

"Hang on a minute," the boy told her and padded to the other side of the room. He returned with a soft object that he thrust into Aerie's lap. "I got lot's of these at home, so you can have this one so that you don't feel lonely!" The Avariel held up the little thing; it was one of those fluffy representations of… something. It wasn't as well made as the Fastpaws doll; it was brown and scruffy and one of its button eyes was coming out. Yet, it still made Aerie smile.

"W-what's his name?"

"Don't know really; but they're called 'Littlemen', it says so on the label."

"Littleman," Aerie read.

"Well… maybe I'll see you around then. That was some dream you were having."

"A-a dream? Yes… m-maybe that's what it was…"

"See ya!"

"Wait!" Aerie called after the boy. "You… you didn't tell me your name."

"Ah, right… I'm Wellyn!" The boy beamed.


	18. Chapter 18 Gladiatrix, Part One

It seems I'm going to have to go back and reformat most of my old chapters and stories :( But first, this:

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #018**

**Gladiatrix, Part One**

_London, England…_

It's sometimes said that the difference between America and England is that the English think one hundred miles is a long way and Americans think one hundred years is a long time. A conclusion that some may see supported in the differing archtecture's of their respective cities; while America boasts many buildings and monuments of enormous size, even the oldest amongst them were mere whipper snappers compared to what was buried and hidden in this sprawling, two thousand year old metropolis.

First founded by the Romans in 43AD and burnt down less than twenty years later by Queen Boudicea. Despite this vandalism she would go on to become a national heroine; and must be said it does take a very special kind of leader to go into battle and lose when her army outnumbers the enemies by eight to one.

But the city was rebuilt, bigger and better than before. Over the centuries it has faced fire, plague, the Luftwaffe, ukulele players and some of the most brutal and violent ruffians the world has never known. And as well as the monarchs, London had been home to some of histories most infamous criminals such as Jack the Ripper. Yet despite it all the city still prospers.

One of the most familiar sights was of course, London Bridge, mostly famous for it's falling down which it did annually. Near to that on the south side of the River Thames rises the tower of Southwark Cathedral, said to be oldest Gothic building in England and the burial place of Will Shakespeare's rather less well known brother Edmund.

Not very far from there is another shrine that has played a far greater role in history but which few people had ever heard of. The Chapel of Saint Nancy seemed an unremarkable little church in all respects, but hidden beneath it, below the centuries old sewers and tubes and the rubble of past incarnations of the city, there was the secret guild hall of the Order of the Radiant Heart. A large round table dominated the centre of the hall lit with a warm orange glow, twelve of the thirteen seats occupied by distinguished elderly gentlemen around which maids dusted and carried trays.

"Gentlemen," one man stood raising his cup. He was Sir Ryan Trawl, successful entrepreneur and part time crusader for justice. His hair wasn't yet as grey as the others, and it seemed he was the only one in the group able to shave himself. "We will begin by singing the national anthem," this announcement was met with a loud groan, and even jeers, from his colleagues.

"Do we have to? It's so dreary…"

"It's tradition…"

"Really not much of a tune though," said the man seated to Sir Ryan's right as he thoughtfully stroked and picked some of the appetizer out of his long white beard. "I mean, I know we all hate those Frenchies… but they have got a catchy tune. Buggered if I know what the songs actually about though…"

"_Allons enfants de la Patrie, le jour de gloire est arrive!" _One man started to rise, but then it seemed his hip fell out and he fell back into his seat and started snoring.

"Isn't it something about a fatted cow?" Sir Ryan turned to face this newest speaker with nonplussed gaze; he was unsure whether they were still all talking about the same thing or whether someone was starting a new conversation somewhere in the middle. These people really belonged in a home…

"I thought that was the Americans…" the geriatric knights continued, dauntless.

"No… theirs is all about rockets and spangly somethings. Good tune though…"

"_To Anacreon in heaven, where he sat in full Glee…_" the hipless knight suddenly woke up again. This time, a few of the others started to join in, raising their own cups and singing raucously. _"… and, besides I'll instruct you like me to intwine, the Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine!_" They finished by smashing their cups together and then pouring the contents down their throats; although most of it ended up intwined with their suits and facial hair.

"Right… well, moving on," Sir Ryan supposed he should be grateful that they'd at least sung an anthem. "Our young squire, Anomen Delryn, returned to us just two days ago… after a quest that some of you sent him on," Ryan took on an almost accusatory tone as he looked to his right. "He brought this back with him…"

With a snap of Sir Ryan's fingers, a well to do butler emerged from a shadowed arch at the side of the hall. Reverently he held up a Silver Chalice studded with gems which he placed, with great care, in front of Sir Ryan. It was a spectacular cup which seemed to glow with some inner light of it's own; somehow it's very aura suggested great age and power… the knight to Sir Ryan's right, one Sir Bassett, wiped his monacle on his suit and proceeded to squint through it and scrutinize the object.

"Oh… he found it did he?" Bassett asked as if he was disappointed.

"It's a fake of course," Sir Ryan pointed out.

"Of course it's fake. The real Grail rotted away to nothing centuries ago. We all know that."

"Then why did you send Anomen on a quest for it?"

"Well… he's always getting on at us to give him some sort of test. Read one too many of those of those stupid King Arthur stories… thinks knighthoods all about damsels, justice and honor and such…"

"Do tell… what is knighthood really about then?"

"Money, women, wine... just generally doing the things we all enjoy doing. But, we can't just let every Tom, Dick and Harry who thinks he knows which end of a sword is the pointy bit join us you know. So anyway, we gave him his test he asked for…"

"A test? Those monks are fanatics! They've been slaughtering people in those mountains for two hundred years… sending him in on his own was a suicide mission!"

"Clearly not," Bassett sighed wearily, "I mean he made it back didn't he?"

"You _know_ what Sir Keldorn will say about all this…"

"Beh… another killjoy…"

"What are we to do with the cup then?" One knight asked.

"Don't know… just stash it downstairs with all the Crystal Skulls I guess…"

"I suppose this means we have to let the lad join us now," said another knight, and there was much more groaning and moaning.

"Well, really he failed the test didn't he?" Someone pointed out, "since he didn't realize it was a fake," this suggestion was applauded.

"So he should have another test then? I happen to know a spot in Africa where these two tribes have been bashing the hell out of each other for the last thousand years… I'm sure they'd welcome someone sent there to keep the peace…"

"Why can't we just put him on a boat and send him to explore the New World or something? That's what we used to do with annoying people back in the old days…"

"Gentleman!" Sir Ryan Trawl barked, suddenly having had enough of these senile old men. "Let me assure you all, this is not a game," he growled. The knights all sank into their seats like surprised schoolboys, and Sir Ryan also sat down in order to compose himself.

The thing was, they were right about knighthood; the romantic tales of fighting dragons and rescuing damsels were a myth created by the common man's desire to have something to aspire to. The truth had always been that chivalry meant whatever you wanted it to mean; but maybe it was about the old fogeys started themselves aspiring to something worthwhile…

"We do have responsibilities gentlemen. This Order was founded by King John to guard this nation against the… well, frankly the inexplicable. Werewolves, demons and all manner of things beyond conventional knowledge and wisdom. It's about time we started taking our responsibility seriously. So, there will be one more test," he decided at last, "but this time a fair one."

"So… where are we sending him then?"

"Are you all so wrapped up in reminiscing about your past deeds that you forget to keep up with current events? America is under attack… huge chunks of it's army and air force just… gone… but where and to whom?"

"So we are sending him to explore the New World then?"

"_If_ the most powerful nation on Earth today is indeed being attacked by an unknown foe, then we should try to learn everything we can about it… whose to say it will stop with the USA? I propose we send our own Squire to learn all he can and then report back to us. All in favor?"

"Well, if it gets him out of our hair for a little while at least," the murmur around the hall echoed that sentiment.

"Good. Now, the next item on the agenda is Sunday's school raffle. I hope you've all remembered to bring a prize…"

--

_Three days later…_

_Baldur's Gate, USA… _

"Where'd you say you found that thing again?" Imoen peered over Aerie's shoulder. The red head was wearing denim jeans and jacket, but that morning she had taken Aerie to do a little shopping, getting the blonde to pick out some stuff for herself. Aerie's sense of fashion though had been developed from watching various cartoons. They'd ended up with a slightly dowdy faux schoolgirl type of look consisting of a pale blue cardigan, pleated blue and grey tartan skirt and woolly tights. Actually it did seem to suit her pretty well.

"I-in the house," the Avariel, wondering why Imoen was asking yet again. "Y-you did say I could keep it?"

"Yeah," the object of Imoen's attention was a small brown bear, which Aerie had been holding on to the thing since that morning, even bringing into the changing rooms with her. The Avariel claimed she'd just found it in one of the rooms in the abandoned house they'd spent the night in, but Aerie just wasn't very good at not telling the truth. Imoen was immediately suspicious and being Imoen her curiosity only grew and grew… "I just… want a closer look at it…"

Suddenly Imoen's arm lashed forwards and around Aerie's waist in an effort to seize the cuddly toy; the Avariel reacted quickly, pulling the bear inwards to her belly and leaning over protectively. A struggle ensured, the red head trying to pry Aerie's hands apart while the blonde stumbled backwards and forwards in an effort to throw Imoen off her back…

"Just let me see!" The red head cried, even as she successfully forced her quickly tiring opponent onto the nicely polished floor… a polite cough from one of the curators however reminded them both of where they were.

Other patrons in the museum acted much like anyone would when they saw two apparently crazy people; they ignored them and carried on looking at the exhibits. Apart from the curator, the only person looking at them at all was a six year old girl.

"Are you bullying her?" The small girl placed her balled fists on her hips and leaned towards Imoen, a dangerous glare in her brown eyes… like some scary pig-tailed enforcer.

"_Me?_ I'm not…" the suddenly flustered Imoen realized she had better let Aerie up. The red head immediately took pose that almost exactly mirrored that of the little girls, except that she was a lot taller of course and didn't have pigtails. "Listen, she was trying to hide something from me! Don't you dare start making out that I'm the villain here!"

"My brother says that you gotta stand up to bullies!"

"Your brothers stupid… he should have told you how to mind your own business."

"My brother is not stupid! He fixed my bike for me! You're the one that's stupid!"

"You wanna take this outside then let's go! If not then run on back to Oz… I'm not going to stand here being told off by a munchkin."

"I'm telling my mum and dad on you!" The girl stormed off, but not before kicking Imoen hard on the shin.

"Oww! That actually hurt…" the red head looked about to wail. "You could have said something you know…"

"You… you were bullying," Aerie remarked as she flicked her hair back. In fact she couldn't have said anything since she needed the time to catch her breath.

"I just wanted to hold it for a minute… I'd have given it back to you. I'm no bully," Imoen insisted, "and you might as well have just given it to me anyway because I'd have definitely got it off you in the end."

"I-I think I could have held out," the Avariel protested and crossed her arms defiantly. Her cheeks were still a little flushed so she really just looked adorable. Imoen smiled; she knew by now that the Avariel would rarely ever give up without giving it absolutely everything she had. Which, considering the blonde wasn't big, strong or the least bit tough, and just a minute's activity left her almost completely out of breath, just added to her adorability somehow.

"What if I said I order you to give it to me?"

"I-I…" Aerie seemed rather taken aback by the question. The Avariel were a slave race, and it was expected that when no other Avariel or Seldarine were around she would serve whatever intelligent life forms there were to the best of her ability… but lately, things just didn't seem as clear as they'd used to. "Even if you order me… I-I don't have to do it… do I?"

"We've still a long way to go, haven't we?" Imoen sighed. "Still, I would really like to know why you're being so protective of that thing."

"I-it… it was given to me," Aerie finally relented.

"Aha! There was someone else in the house last night! I knew you couldn't have eaten all those cookies by yourself… why didn't you wake me?"

"It was o-only small boy…"

"Even so Laura, you should have woke me up."

"But… we weren't in any danger, were we? N-not from a little boy…"

"I just like to be kept informed," Imoen said plainly. She decided Aerie wasn't yet ready to learn that this was a world where even children could be corrupted.

"I'm sorry," the Avariel sagged dejectedly.

"Hey, it's not that you did anything wrong, just… well, from now on, wake me, okay?" The Avariel bobbed her head slowly. "Good… now let's go. I really don't want to meet munchkin's parents or her older brother… she kicked me really hard you know…"

Limping away, Imoen turned her attention to her phone. They were supposed to be meeting Minsc here in the city museum but the cyborg was running late.

_'Nothing had better of happened to the big lug', _was what was running through the red heads mind.

Back in the museums entrance hall were several large and apparently quite ancient stones. The pair hadn't had much time to look at them when they'd arrived, since Imoen wanted to go straight to see the animatronic dinosaurs, which was the only part of the museum she really liked. These were just big rocks with graffiti on them.

"Those are the monoliths the Vikings left here," Imoen explained, suddenly able to recall everything she'd heard on a school trip here years ago. "Like you said before, Vikings didn't write, so all those funny looking symbols were put there by the druids."

"What do they mean?" Aerie asked.

"No one's ever been able to translate much of it… but they think it's says something about this being the gateway to the new world, since this was the first Viking settlement in North America. Baldur was the King who founded the original settlement, and so that's why the city is called Baldur's Gate. You see now?"

"Y-yes," Aerie stared at the monoliths a moment longer, trying to take them all in. She couldn't help feeling that something seemed familiar… but she was sure it was nothing. The Avariel had downloaded vast libraries of knowledge into her brain, including thousands of languages. It wasn't at all surprising that a lot of writing looked similar.

"Imoen! And Laura! It is good to see you friends!" Minsc's voice rumbled through the museum, threatening to undo centuries of archaeological discovery. At least he'd remembered to use the name of Aerie's secret identity in public.

"H-h-hello… M-Minsc," Aerie did her best to smile and return the greeting, even as the huge Russian was crushing the life out of the two women. Fortunately he released them before anything actually broke.

"Minsc has heard all about Mason… he is a _bad_ man," he said, shaking his head solemnly, "He reminds Minsc of old comrade named Alexei."

"Who was he?" Imoen asked.

"He was a _bad_ man," Minsc nodded seriously. The two women leant in a little closer, anticipating a story. But after two minutes it became clear that there wasn't any more.

"Right… well. The question is then, what do we do about Mason?"

"Minsc will bend his body in two and scar his butt cheeks with the brand of justice!"

"I think we need to be a bit more subtle Minsc… even if we remove him from the picture altogether whose to say his lieutenants won't continue his vendetta? And we can't hand him to the cops… even from prison he can still give orders. Besides, whatever evidence there is, the creep will probably still be able to weasel his way out within a week. No… the way I see it, we need to get something on him that will turn the whole underworld against him."

"Y-you said he'd killed his mas… h-his employer so that he could take charge of the gang," Aerie offered. She really didn't understand very much yet about how things worked around here.

"Yeah, I'm sure where you're from anyone would find that shocking, but in the underworld it's just the sort of thing that's expected to happen. Don't stop putting forward suggestions though… it's good that you're trying," Imoen gave her an encouraging pat on the back. "Come on Minsc… you worked for the man nearly a year…"

"Minsc mostly just kicked butts," the cyborg frowned in concentration, "Perhaps Boo has a better memory," he took the hamster out of a breast pocket; the rodent wasn't happy at being woken up but soon they appeared to be consulting each other. "There was… something…" he said at last.

"Yes?" The two women leant in once more.

"There was a time when Minsc was asked by the bad man, Mason, to protect him while he did business. Minsc did not know him to be bad at the time so Minsc agreed… Minsc watched the bad man meet another man who gave him a case filled with money."

"So? Who was the other man?"

"Ah," with a conspiratorial wag of his finger Minsc indicated that the others follow him. Stepping very carefully he led them to the front of the hall, where there was a newspaper stand. "It was this man," he pointed to a photo on the front of the local paper.

"The Chief of Police?" Aerie read from the caption. "But… w-why would he pay a criminal money?"

"Well, everyone knows about all the affairs he's had, so I don't think it's blackmail," Imoen started to ponder all the possibilities.

"Boo is asking Minsc to say that this was but a short time after the Lizzie gang received the law's righteous spanking."

"So… you're saying Mason makes his money in two ways; first from the villains by trading in their goods, and then from the cops by trading in the villains?"

"Minsc does not understand what 'it' is, but Boo says that little Imoen has it. It's not a rash, is it Boo?"

"The crooks will tear him to pieces if they find out!" The red head gasped.

"So… we make sure that they do?" Aerie asked with only a small raise of her eyebrow. Imoen spontaneously hugged and kissed her on the cheek.

"You got it too, now," Imoen grinned. It might turn out to be a good day after all; she needed one, especially considering what she knew would happen as soon as she went to sleep tonight.

Moments later, the trio emerged on the parking lot behind the museum; Minsc however had parked several blocks and departed to retrieve Dynaheir while the others waited. It shortly after that Imoen's day took a turn for the worse.

"After we've wrapped this up Laura, what do you want to do?" Imoen asked, feeling she'd dragging Aerie around too much and not giving her a chance to really appreciate everything.

"You… y-you said there was a library?" The Avariel replied.

"Of course… I used to go there a lot when I was small. Well, the nuns would take us. Every time they did then, first chance I got I would sneak away into the 'Adult' section."

"Why?"

"It's what you do when you're a kid," the red head shrugged.

As Imoen continued reminiscing, Aerie thought she heard footsteps… and then a very familiar 'clack'. Were she human she would not of heard it as this distance, but it was a sound she often heard around guards and soldiers. At the last second she pushed Imoen out of the way.

The red head heard the shot and felt Aerie's body smash into her… for a moment though she was just sat on the concrete feeling dazed… before she realized that Aerie was bleeding.

"Are you okay?!" Imoen, suddenly panic stricken, tried turning the Avariel over.

"I-it… it hurts," the blonde grimaced painfully. "I-I'll be alright, i-if…"

Both could hear footsteps now… men in black coats and fedoras, about seven in all, approached them. Imoen started desperately searching for a way to get her and Aerie out…

"Compliments of the boss," the apparent leader of the seven said, pointing his gun at Imoen's head. She was about to speak, but was interrupted by the squeeling of tires… the leader turned his head just in time to bounce off the roof of a… a mini cooper? One of those small British cars with the flat backs. There was even a Union Jack painted on the roof.

The door opened and a man started to emerge; Imoen didn't know how anything could fit inside that thing, yet alone the six foot tuxedoed gentleman with a neat black beard. He was clearly very muscular; maybe it was like a TARDIS or something…

"I am so sorry," the English man spoke using his English accent. "It's my fault… I think I may have been driving on the wrong side…"

"Put your guns away," one gangster said, prompting the others to avert their eyes from the broken body of their leader. "I know most of you boys ain't seen a knife since West Side Story, but that's how they do things across the pond. Let's make this 'gent' feel at home…" with wicked grins on their faces, the gangsters discarded their firearms and flicked out their blades.

The Englishman rolled his eyes, then proceeded to shoot all six with the pistol he had strapped to his left breast.

"Who the hell are you?" Imoen demanded as she tried to lift Aerie up on her shoulder. Luckily Avariel weighed much less than humans.

"Delryn… Anomen Delryn," he said with a raise of his eyebrow. "And I'm a doctor."

"Great," Imoen was already getting Aerie into the back seat of the mini… it may have been small, but she didn't think she could wait for Minsc.

"I'll drive you to a hospital…"

"No!" Imoen said immediately. Aerie may have looked human on the outside but any doctor prodding inside her would soon realize that they were treating something not from this world… "No hospitals."

"But…"

"Trust me Doc… we've just got to get the bullet out. She'll be able to do the rest on her own," it clearly wasn't much of an explanation but there was little time; the Avariel was already losing consciousness.

"Alright," Anomen said, though obviously very suspicious. "I have a Doctors bag in my Hotel room… should have everything I need. But I really think…"

"I _will_ explain later, I promise… but for now I just really need you to drive, and fast…"


	19. Chapter 19 Gladiatrix, Part Two

BG Heroes #001

**Baldur's Gate Heroes #019**

**Gladiatrix, Part Two**

Aerie opened her eyes but everything was still dark. She blinked a few times just to make sure that she had opened them, and after a amount she realised she was staring up at a grey reflection. Her side still hurt… they must have finished with her for the day and put her back in her cell. She turned on her side, trying to make herself as comfortable as she could on the hard surface she was lain on. Then she noticed something unusual… they'd left the door wide open.

Why had they done that? Was it another way of torturing her, taunting, mocking… they knew she wasn't going to escape. She knew it too. Even if she could there was nowhere she could go. And so, she turned over to her other side and closed her eyes again.

Strange thoughts entered her mind when she lay alone in the dark like this; sometimes they were sad. She remembered her home and her Avariel sisters… it seemed so much like a dream. Sometimes it was frightening; she saw the walls and the shadows move and try to engulf her. And sometimes it was just bazaar; she saw strange animals and met the oddest of characters… she seemed to recall a rogue like but good hearted red haired girl and a huge man with a plate on his face carrying around lots of really big weapons. She really had no control over it, so she would just have to lie down and see what came.

As she did that, her mind began to process other information reaching her from outside her brain. Voices and… now that she thought about it, there never used to be any paintings on the walls of her cell. Or a TV set…

Her eyes flicked open and she sat up, the memories of the last month suddenly flooding back. She'd been shot… she ran her hands down to where her side hurt, finding the wound bandaged. The bullet itself was a metal dish on a table next to the one she was lying on. Amazing to think that something so small could still hurt this much…

Something still felt wrong though… a very odd tingling sensation. Something was still inside her that her body was trying to force out. Carefully prying away the bandages, she found out what the problem was; whoever had taken out the bullet hadn't completely understood what they were doing. They'd stitched the wound.

Due to her remarkable alien physiology it would have already closed on its own; those stitches were in the way. She found a needle, presumably the same one used to apply the stitches, and carefully plucked away the thread. She was still very sore and bruised but she was able to bear it, and then turn her attention to her surroundings.

It was a very makeshift operating room, and she felt reasonably sure this was in no way a part of a hospital. The pictures, the television, the microwave oven; she came to the conclusion that was in fact a kitchen. She was hungry and after visiting Jansen's there were many foods she wanted to try. Good foods. But first… was Imoen alright? She was sure she'd seen the red head talking to her before shutting down, but she had to make sure… and so at last she walked out the door.

--

"We should have taken her to a hospital," Anomen repeated, "I've… done what I can, but the wound could still get infected…" he explained, although he wasn't entirely sure. He wasn't sure what he'd experienced; by the time they'd sneaked the blonde into the hotel and he'd started to operate, most of the bleeding had already stopped and he was sure the wound was already closing itself, which in fact made operating more difficult. He'd also believed that the bullet may have entered the girls liver; only the girl didn't have a liver, or if she did it wasn't where it was supposed to be. What organs where there he couldn't identify… even so, in the absence of any other information, he treated it like he would any 'normal' person.

"She'll be fine," the red head assured him as she stretched herself out on his couch. Well, it wasn't really his couch. He was just renting it. Still… he really didn't know anything about these people. In hindsight, he probably should have asked more questions before letting them in but his instinct as a healer had taken over.

"Why were those men trying to kill you?"

"Don't know… just seemed to take a disliking to me. I'm usually such a popular person as well… so weird."

"They didn't seem like common criminals to me."

"Good thing too… if they were they'll have wiped their noses on their sleeves and I really can't stand that."

"Of course you don't have to explain anything to me," Anomen said, growing annoyed by Imoen's coyness. "Perhaps I should just call the police?"

"You do that," Imoen waved him on nonchalantly, "Remember, it's 9-1-1 over here, not 9-9-9."

"You really want me to call them?"

"Go right ahead… and while you're at it, you can explain to them what an English doctor is doing in an American city with a gun."

"Ah… yes," Anomen was suddenly stumped. _Damn, she was a sharp one…_

"Yes?"

"Well… I'm on holiday you see. I suppose you call it vacation over here…"

"Bit of a strange place to come for a vacation. New York's not all that far away, the Statue of Liberty… only real sight we have here is Old Bill."

"I've never really been into French girls," Anomen shrugged, and the only Old Bill he knew of referred to the police. "Besides, when I go abroad I don't want all tour guides and souvenir stands. I want to see the real country, meet the real people…"

"And kill them?"

"What?"

"The gun? Looks to me like a brand spanking new British Army issue Browning Hi-Power, which means you probably didn't get it around here."

"Right… the gun…"

"Hey Laura!" Imoen spotted the blonde standing by the door and sprang to her feet to greet her. "I was a little worried for a second there… are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine now ma'am… you know I've had far worse," Aerie assured her, "but, I'm afraid I ruined the new clothes you got me…"

"It's alright… they weren't really new anyway…"

"You should be taking it easy," Anomen stepped across the room, "wouldn't want the wounds reopening." The blonde immediately looked to her red headed superior for information on whether this new person was friend or foe.

"This is Anomen… he took the bullet out of you," Imoen explained, "he's from England, that's why he talks funny. Anomen, this is Laura. You two have a lot in common; you're both illegal aliens."

"Thank you for your assistance," Aerie bobbed her head, "there's no need to worry. I really am much better now."

"Let me see," Anomen gently lifter the blonde's shirt, only a modest amount of course. There was a bruise but other than that the bullet hole was completely gone. He had seen it hadn't he? He'd pulled it out and put in a dish; he was sure of it. "That's… impossible. Who… what are you?" Again, the blonde looked to the red head for advice.

"We've all got our secrets, haven't we Doc?" Imoen quipped as she appeared to be mulling over something. As she did the door flung open.

"Minsc heard! Is little Laura all better? O, Minsc should have been there to protect little Laura and Imoen…" The big man rushed in, and then stopped suddenly looking rather surprised. Across the room, Anomen was pointing his gun at him.

"Whoa! What are you doing?" Imoen leapt in front of him. "This is just…"

"I know who this is," Anomen said coolly, not taking his eyes off the Russian. "Doctor Minsc Rashemanovich… fled from Russia in nineteen seventy seven, where his experiments in cybernetics had resulted in the deaths of over one hundred civilian test subjects. I must say you're looking good for a man of at least sixty, so I guess you finally got it right."

"Well, you see, not exactly…"

"Is that what she is? Some kind of cybernetic organism… it's all starting to make sense now."

"D-d-d-doctor Minsc…" the huge cyborg started backing away, his eyes bulging and wildly darting as his panic and confusion levels started rising. "No! Minsc is a great hero! Is that not so Boo?"

"Heroes don't murder innocent people."

"He's not the same man," Imoen remained firm between them, "look… he has the mind of a child now… he doesn't even remember doing those things…"

"Murder… Boo?" Minsc slipped and fell backwards, allowing his body to slide down the wall. The little hamster's nose started twitching furiously.

"You're claiming insanity? Even if he doesn't remember, I doubt the families of his victims will have forgotten so easily."

"Fine. Go ahead and shoot him," Imoen said with her best defiant and daring stance.

"What?!"

"Ma'am?" Aerie worriedly stepped forward.

"It's alright," Imoen said, "he can't hurt Minsc with that anyway. Don't know how the big man's going to react to it though. He might get angry… or worse, he might actually start to remember and then we'll be in real trouble…"

Anomen narrowed his gaze on Minsc, bent up in a corner whispering to a hamster. He really was insane wasn't he? And from there his focus drifted to Imoen.

"Of course," she said, "if you were to just put the gun away and let me explain everything, that would save us a whole lot of hurt."

"All right," Anomen relented, pointing the gun away. The room breathed again.

"Laura," Imoen said, "why don't you go outside with Minsc?"

"Ma'am… I… will you be okay?" the blonde looked suspiciously at Anomen.

"It's fine. Just stay with Minsc."

"All… all right," she nodded and attended to the big man.

"Little Laura," the cyborg looked up and grinned as she crouched beside. "Minsc was afraid… ah, but he should have known a hero like you could never fall so easily."

"Everything's fine now," she smiled gently and reached out. "Can we go for a walk?"

"Of course!" he beamed, and very gently took her hand. "Minsc will look after you. If more bad men come, Minsc will knock them down like skittles! And if any only wobble a bit. Minsc will jump up and down causing the earth to quake around them!"

"Skittles?"

"Minsc means ten pin bowling… a fine game invented in Russia."

"Really?"

"Some others may tell things differently, but they are just wrong in the head most likely."

As they talked, Minsc stood up and was slowly led outside by Aerie. Anomen decided he needed a drink, and opened up the cabinet the hotel thoughtfully provided for occasions such as these.

"Right," Imoen clapped her hands together, "Don't quite know where to begin…"

"The beginning is usually a good place to start," Anomen said.

"Right… but it's not really so easy to point at a single event and say 'that's where it all began…' There's always things that went on before building up to it, and before them there were events leading up to those… unless you go back to the very beginning with the Big Bang…"

"Why don't you just tell me about your friends?"

"Right… I think you should pour yourself another drink…"

--

"Quayle taught me the constellations," Aerie looked up at the night sky as she walked with Minsc along the edge of the pool. Minsc was taking her back to Dynaheir; he seemed not to like leaving his machinery alone for very long. "A-although I was never allowed outside to look at them. Leo, Centaur… um, a-according to Avariel observers most of that cluster there is dominated by Orcs. Thousands of billions of them… they're the most numerous creatures in the galaxy, apparently. Apparently, t-they're half plant and half animal. They sound scary, but I-I think I'd still like to see them some time…"

"Minsc had weeds in his garden once, in Russia."

"W-weeds?" Aerie thought; she supposed it was an accurate, if unflattering description of Orcs who were a highly intelligent, although completely unimaginative, species. They did tend to show up where they weren't wanted though and reproduce quite aggressively. "Hmm… wh-what was Russia?"

"It was big!" Minsc threw his arms out wide since words alone couldn't possibly express the bigness of the thing he described. "Much bigger than America… bigger even than Minsc, who is very big indeed! Although it was a bit cold."

"Hmm… I-I don't suppose you can see Aquila at this time of year. Th-that's where I was born, close to the star your astronomers call Alshain… o-or Beta Aquilae," at forty four light years distant, Alshain was probably the closest any Avariel before her had been to Earth, apart possibly from Aerdrie herself. In fact, Aerie realized, when Aquila did become visible in a few months time and if it was possible to build a telescope powerful enough to see over all that distance they'd be able to see the city ship on the very day she was born… you may even catch a glimpse of her wandering the crystal forests, although you'd need a telescope probably bigger than Earth itself. Watching the stars was looking into the past; in the present the city ship could have moved on almost anywhere, without her.

"It is strange, yes, to be so far from home. Ah, but far stranger for you it must be than it is for Minsc. People are not much different wherever in this world you go; there are many whose hearts are empty and who deserve the righteous thumping of hero's fists. But many as well that are kind and good."

"It's… i-it's also easy to tell which people are, is it?"

"Boo is an infallible judge of character, but Minsc must admit he has been deceived many times."

"Imoen must think Anomen is a good person, o-or she wouldn't have told us to leave, right?"

"The British man may be a little jumpy, but he did help little Laura and Imoen. He could have drove on but he didn't. These are the actions of a good man."

"He… he didn't upset you?"

"Upset? Minsc?! Why? What happened?"

"You…?" Maybe he'd already forgotten, Aerie thought. Maybe his cybernetic brain had erased the memory because it was too unpleasant. There were many times she wished she could do that. "It's not important…"

The two of them reached Dynaheir. Minsc went in first, then lifted Aerie up. Inside the gleaming metal bird, Ammale, perched on top of a locker, turned it's head to her as if in greeting of it's master.

"Is it okay if I watch the television?" Aerie asked.

"Of course! Minsc needs to recharge his battery anyway," the cyborg said, already plugging himself in and placing Boo in a shoebox. "Watch Boo… he can get restless and go wandering off on his own."

"Y-yes sir. I will do my best to look after him," and at that, Minsc appeared to go to 'sleep', sitting upright in his chair, leaving Aerie alone with Boo and all the monitors.

She spent a while flicking through channels. Although there were televisions in the De'Arnise facility she'd never dreamed that someday she'd be in control of the remote. The power almost got to her head for a second.

"_In nineteen seventy-two, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to…"_

_"…the Tubbytronic Superdome…"_

_"…still wanted by the government, they survive as…"_

_"…Muppet Babies…"_

_"…If you have a problem, if no on else can help and if…"_

_"…Godzilla is attacking Tokyo…"_

_"…Maybe you can hire…"_

_"… Chiktikka Fastpaws!"_

Aerie sat herself down, cross legged, on the bunk. She'd seen this episode a few times before but it was a really good one where Chiktikka has to battle these Gremlins who have sabotaged a plane carrying some Swedish Princess. At the end the Princess thanks him, which makes Miss Kitty jealous… lots of good action scenes, classic one liners, drama and romance between anthropomorphized animals. Television producers might as well just stop now, since there was no way they could make anything this good ever again.

The blonde alien ELF, so drawn in to the two dimensional world in front of her, didn't notice Ammale hovering beside her. She jumped when the metal bird suddenly started projecting an image right in front of her.

"Eek! Ammale! I-I'm trying to wat…!" She started protesting, but her momentarily outrage quickly subsided when she saw what he was showing her. "T-that's… impossible…"

"What is wrong?" Minsc turned around in his recharging chair, disturbed by Aerie's squeeking.

"It's… it's got to be an error in his circuitry. H-he's showing me the same distress signal th-that led me here thirty six years ago. O-only it's really close… a few miles and… t-two hundred feet underground," Aerie touched the holographic screen getting a closer look at the signal. "R-run a self diagnostic," she said, and Ammale did so. A few beeps and whistles later and he returned his report. "Well… s-something must be wrong…"

"Perhaps Minsc and you should go and look?"

Aerie thought hard about it… and although her curiousity was peaked, she knew Imoen might need both of them. Not just with the strange foreign gentlemen, but with that slimey man Mason.

"I think we should stay and help Imoen… t-then maybe she'll let us look," she said, "I-if I haven't found anything wrong with Ammale by then."

Aerie told Ammale to sleep, and settled back to her show. But, she was unable to concentrate on the screen; afterall, she was being haunted by a thirty six year old ghost. Most likely it was a glitch; all sorts of people had been tampering with Ammale over the years without having any clue what they were doing. Bound to be a circuit or two crossed somewhere…

And if it was real? Why would it have changed location? Was it possible that there was someone else here, like her?

--

"… and when Dynaheir realized he'd forgotten almost everything she decided, with the right guidance, he could be made into a force for good," Imoen finished explaining most of the story she could remember. She strategically left some bits out, like the man in her dreams. Didn't want him to think she was insane after all.

"And Laura… Aerie, is an alien?" Anomen repeated, just to make sure he'd heard right.

"That's right."

"An actual alien, from outer space?"

"Yup."

"But she looks so…"

"Human? I know. See, the Seldarine came to Earth forty thousand years ago and created the Avariel out of artificial DNA, basing their looks on us. Least, that's what Aerie thinks."

Imoen knew she was taking a big risk by telling him all this… if Anomen was a British spy and he went to back to his government and told them the US had been holding extra terrestrial technology and actual live aliens against their will… well, there would be international uproar. The whole rest of the world would accuse the USA of risking dragging the entire human race into war with another species, without bothering to consult any of them. Again. And of course the whole thing about alien technologies that could greatly upset the balance of power… but that would be for politicians to sort out. Right now, she realized she needed this mans help. Again.

Not that the British should have been spying on their allies in the first place. Maybe they did it as a friendly joke though. Like when the SAS boarded the US Navy's flagship, left a huge sack of Christmas cards then left without being seen by anyone.

"But… besides Aerie herself, what proof have you seen of this?" Anomen asked, still a little skeptical.

"I've got all Sorel's research on a laptop computer… and Ammale of course."

"Ammale?"

"A sort of droid… that's what Aerie calls it. Means 'yellow bird', apparently."

"The… the Order has records dating back hundreds of years. People talking of creatures falling out of the sky… I thought it was superstition…"

"Order?"

"I suppose it does no harm to tell you now," Anomen said as he breathed out, then had another drink. "The Order of the Radiant heart… that's who I work for. Initially, it was secret society set up by King John to investigate what we would call the paranormal."

"King John from Robin Hood?"

"He wasn't quite as bad as he's made out in the stories… I mean, he was far from perfect, but he had his moments."

"And this Order… it was like a medieval X-Files?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"So… you're not a spy?"

"Not exactly, no. I was sent to find out what's been affecting the US military and whether it poses a threat to the rest of the world. I received a tip that a group of 'rebels', had been seen in this vicinity."

"That's interesting," Imoen nodded. Were they coming after her, she wondered? "Listen… maybe we can help each other? Might be I know something about all that business," okay, it might not be much but it was probably a little more than he knew at the moment.

"What do you want?" Anomen raised one eyebrow. She could tell he was intrigued.

"See… those men earlier were sent by a crook called Mason. I need him off my case, and to do that I need to gather a little evidence. Problem is, he has goons all over town looking out for the rest of us. But, I don't think he knows anything about you yet. You could just walk right in and get what we need."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Well… alright it is a little bit dangerous. But he's a crime lord… and a lawyer. He's just an all round despicable human being."

"All right… I'll do it," Anomen sighed. "Just one more drink first."


End file.
